Choices & Consequences
by AlexDN
Summary: We make choices that have consequences that affect our and people next to us' lives. A different take on the effects of Rivkin case, and what happened after that, on Tony and Gibbs' Team. The beginning is not pro-Gibbs, but it'll change. NOT FOR ZIVA/TIVA FANS WIP
1. Chapter 1

NB: I don't own anything of NCIS :(

I wrote this story years ago and then forgot about it. I rediscovered it while I was cleaning out my PC and, after the horrible farewell Tony/MW got, I wish this story had really happened at the beginning of S7... though we'd have lost 7 seasons of MW's amazing talent and charm.

This FF takes place just after Gibbs' Team took Ziva back to DC.

Warnings:

\- **NOT** for Ziva's fans.

\- **NOT** for Tiva fans.

\- **NOT** for Gibbs' fans either,  unless you decide there will be more chapters.

NB: Thank you so much to my BR USA123. Without your precious advices, this FF would never be posted. You're amazing! :)

 _ **"Choices & Consequences"**_

Two days ago, Gibbs, Tony and McGee had closed their last case. Yesterday Ziva had returned to the team and today it had been a very boring paperwork day.

 **Bullpen.**

It was about 1900 and the team was still at their desks, reading and reviewing files and reports.

Gibbs was looking at his agents and wondering what they were thinking.

McGee was engrossed in his computer and typing very fast. _I just hope he's not playing one of his stupid videogames!_

Ziva looked relaxed and happy. They'd saved her from Saleem and brought her back to DC and to the only family that the Israeli woman still had. The pain that Eli David had caused his own daughter would always be with her but, after their last talk, Gibbs was sure that Ziva saw a bright and happy future in front of her.

 _''The closest thing I have to a father...''_

Those seven words kept echoing in Gibbs' head. Ziva had told that to him after he had confronted her about Ari's death and her father's orders. The team leader had believed Ziva when she had told him that after killing Ari and saving his life, that she was not following Eli's orders.

 _I believed her, but why? Ziva had lied to us and betrayed us during Rivkin case. Tony was almost killed by her boyfriend, who was trying to frame her for terrorism on her father's orders._ The Team Leader shook his head _. She knew that Rivkin had killed the ICE agent, but she didn't do or say anything. Why?... Ziva knew that I and Tony had told Rivkin to leave our country... she knew! Why didn't she call Mossad to extract him? Even Hadar told her that she had screwed up and that Michael's death was her fault... and I...I took her back on the team._

Gibbs looked at Ziva. She raised her head and smiled at him.

 _Do I really trust her? Do I really believe her?_

 _No! She didn't play me! She was sincere and really sorry for all that had happened._

Gibbs turned and looked at Tony, who was reading a report and making some corrections. Despite all that had happened just a few months ago, DiNozzo seemed fine with Ziva's return.

 _But you never know with Tony. He's not such a great undercover agent by fortune. He can put on any mask he wants and make it believable. I usually see behind those masks, but... I don't know... after... after... when?... Maybe my return from Mexico? Yes... after my return from Baja, I've some difficulties reading Tony... sometimes I really don't understand what he's thinking... maybe I should have kept an eye on him during the Rivkin mess... Eli said that Tony killed Michael out of jealousy, but that's not true. He killed Michael in self-defense and he was there just to help Ziva._

As if Tony had felt Gibbs looking at him, he raised his eyes and gave his boss a questioning look. Gibbs just shook his head and got back to his work. Tony did the same, oblivious of what was going through his boss' head.

 _Maybe I should have talked with Tony before taking Ziva back on the team... but he risked his life to save her so... I'm sure that Tony's fine... though..._

Gibbs looked at Tony once again and he noticed how tired the younger man looked. The light from the lamp on his desk revealed all the lines of tension in Tony's face and the black bags under his eyes.

Gibbs knew his SFA was exhausted, but his tiredness looked more psychological than physical. Ever since their return from Israel, his gut had been telling him that Tony was hiding something.

Gibbs scowled, rethinking Eli's interrogation and his hands squeezing Tony's broken arm. _Bastard!_

 _But something happened since our return…Tony's distant and colder. He looks like the usual DiNozzo, but his eyes are not the same. After Ziva's return, I expected to see Tony in my basement for one of our talks... I thought he'd have wanted some explanations and... for once, I was ready to talk with him and explain why Ziva's here again despite all that had happened... but Tony didn't show up... something is not right._

Gibbs felt he needed to find out what had happened in Israel after the interrogation.

He saw a movement on the mezzanine and raised his eyes to find Director Leon Vance staring at all of them.

The two men shared a brief look before the Director broke the silence of the bullpen and said, ''Agent DiNozzo?''

Tony jumped slightly out of his chair. He looked at Gibbs for a second and then he turned to their superior. ''Yes, Director?'

''I need a minute,'' the older man said as he went back into his office.

The four agents in the bullpen exchanged worried and surprised looks as Tony left his desk and headed upstairs.

Gibbs saw his SFA, his friend and the closest thing he had to a son, disappearing into the hall that led to Vance's office and again had a strong feeling that something wasn't right.

* * *

 **Vance's Office.**

"Agent DiNozzo, take a seat, please," Vance said as he gestured with his hand.

Tony sat down in front of the Director's desk while the other man sat in his own chair.

They stared each other for a few seconds then Vance said, "I'm going to ask you a question and I expect complete honesty from you, Agent DiNozzo."

"Yes, Sir."

"Are you sure you can work with Ziva?"

"Director?" Tony asked, taken aback by his superior's words.

"Do you trust her, Tony?"

"Don't I have to?" Tony grinned, though his smile didn't meet his eyes, but after a glare he answered, "She's one of my teammates and we've got to trust each other."

"I asked: do **you** trust her?" the Director repeated, exasperated.

Tony went completely silent and averted his eyes.

Vance sighed, rubbing his eyes with the tips of his fingers. "That's what I thought."

"Director, Ziva's part of the team and you approved that. I don't understand why you're asking me if I trust her."

"Because of this," Vance clicked the remote so Tony turned to look at the big screen on the wall.

After a few seconds, Ziva's assault in Israel appeared on the screen and their words filled the office.

They watched the video in silence and, after it was over, Vance said, "I wouldn't blame you if you didn't trust her anymore, Tony. But I don't understand why you didn't report her and, most importantly, why did you accept her back on the team?"

"Well... I had no choice," Tony sighed and slumped back on the chair.

"What do you mean?" Vance frowned.

"Gibbs didn't ask my opinion, so if I want to be part of the team I've got to..."

"Suck it up and move on," the Director finished for his Agent.

Tony just nodded.

Vance stood up, rounded his desk, sat on it in front of Tony. "'Ya know, I've never understood why Gibbs wanted her back on the team after what happened with Rivkin and..."

"And what, Director?"

"And after what I told him about Ari."

"Ari?" Tony chuckled. "Sorry Director, but you're rehashing old stories. Gibbs killed Ari, end of the story."

Vance stared at Tony for a few very long seconds then he stood up and headed towards the window behind his desk.

Tony frowned, trying to read the man's body language. It seemed that the Director was mentally debating something important and this uncertainty made Tony uneasy. "Sir, what's really going on? Why am I here? And why are you talking about Ziva and Ari?"

"Gibbs didn't kill Ari... Ziva did."

Vance's words had the effect of a bomb. Tony's green eyes went impossibly wide as his mouth opened but no sound came forth.

"Excuse me?" the MCRT SFA finally uttered.

Vance took a deep breath. "Her father ordered her to kill Ari and gain Gibbs' trust. She didn't believe him and came here to save Ari and help him to escape, but when Ari confessed to Gibbs that he was a terrorist and a Hamas' mole in Mossad, Ziva finally followed her father's orders. She killed the half-brother she was here to save and gained Gibbs' trust, just as Eli wanted."

Tony couldn't believe what his Director had just said, but his shock was clear on his pale face as he stood next to Vance at the window.

"Too bad she didn't arrive in DC before Ari killed Kate," Tony murmured looking at the Anacostia River that was flowing peacefully by.

Vance just stared Tony who then questioned, "Ziva was here before Ari killed Kate and she didn't do anything? She let him kill Kate?"

The Director shot Tony a look. "DiNozzo, do you really think I would have let her back on the team last year if I thought she'd allowed Ari to kill Kate?"

Despite Vance's tone, DiNozzo didn't back down, his angry glare demanding an answer.

Vance huffed out a sign at his agent's accusation then continued, "Before rehiring her, I checked and rechecked everything we knew about the circumstances of Agent Todd's death. Despite my efforts, I didn't find any evidence that Ziva let Ari kill her on purpose in order to sit at her desk."

 _This doesn't mean that she didn't do it. She's Mossad and knows how to get rid of evidence to save her a**._ Tony thought, but kept his suspicions to himself.

He was just opening his mouth to say something diplomatic when his gut began to churn. "Does Gibbs know?" he asked, barely audible.

"He does. I told him when you came back from Tel Aviv."

"And he still took her back." Tony shook his head sadly, feeling more betrayed than he had when he'd found out Danny was a dirty cop.

Vance just nodded. "That's why I wanted to talk with you and find out if you still trust Ziva, because..." he got back to his desk and looked at some files on it, "We need to reorganize the field office in Pearl Harbor and I think you'd be the right man for the job. But within the next 14 months the team leader of Europe and Africa Field Office in Naples will retire. Over the last few years that office has become more and more strategic and I need one of my best agents there: I want you there, Agent DiNozzo."

"I accept," Tony said without any hesitation.

Not surprised by his Agent's reaction but worried Tony would regret it after shock and anger faded, Vance asked, "Don't you want to think about it?"

"No, sir," Tony shook his head resolutely. "I can't stay here and this job is a great opportunity for me."

"You can't stay here because of Ziva or there is more? I can transfer her if you..."

Tony shook his head again as he left the door and stopped in front of the Director's desk. "I could have tried to work with her again, but Gibbs," Tony lowered his eyes as he shook his head sadly. "He let the handler of Kate's assassin sit at her desk and he accepted Ziva back after he knew..."

DiNozzo took a deep breath then switched the subject before he lost control of his emotions. "Thanks for your trust, Director," he said, holding out his hand.

"You earned and deserve it, Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo," the Director said as he shook Tony's hand.

They both softly smiled.

* * *

 **Bullpen.**

Vance and Tony arrived in the bullpen and they were met by Gibbs, McGee and Ziva's questioning looks. Tony immediately went to his desk and started collecting his stuff.

"What are you doing, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked surprised.

Tony just looked at him for a brief moment and then got back to what he was doing.

"DiNozzo!" the Team Leader barked making McGee and Ziva jump on their chair, but getting no reaction from his SFA. "I asked you—"

"I've an announcement for all of you," Vance calmly interrupted Gibbs. "I'm going to make some changes to this team."

McGee looked at Gibbs and saw his boss get up and, in two strides, stand face-to-face with the Director.

Ziva was watching the entire scene with an amused smirk on her face. Vance's finally punishing Tony for what he did to me and Michael... he could have compromised USA and Israel's partnership with his jealousy for me. She was genuinely happy to be back in US and at NCIS, especially because Gibbs' team was the only family she had but, just like when she assaulted Tony in Israel, Ziva still blamed DiNozzo for her lover's death and that anger was still in her heart.

"We need to talk in private, Leon," Gibbs hissed, barely hiding his anger.

"No need," Vance replied with his best poker-face. "I've already made my mind. Nothing you say or do is going to change it."

Gibbs glared at Vance and then looked at Tony who didn't look upset or angry; DiNozzo was just deadly serious and his eyes were pure ice.

"Agent McGee, you've just been promoted to SFA. A new agent will be assigned your old position in the chain of command," the Director announced.

Tony softly smiled at McGee's reaction. The new MCRT SFA kept looking at Vance, then Gibbs, then Tony, his jaw hanging slightly open with shock. "Congrats Tim! You deserve it," Tony told him sincerely.

"Where are you going Tony?" McGee finally managed to ask.

Before Tony could answer, Vance continued, "He's been tasked with reorganizing the Pearl Harbor office and," he looked at Tony with a proud smile, "if Special Agent DiNozzo will agree, in 14 months, he'll will transfer to Italy and become the Team Leader of Europe and Africa Field Office in Naples."

"Wow, Tony," McGee replied, knowing how important that field office was for US strategies. "That's an amazing opportunity! They're lucky to have you."

Ziva, who had thought that Tony finally being punished for killing Michael out of jealousy, was shocked and speechless. "I don't understand," she managed to get out.

"There's nothing for you to understand, Agent David. Agent DiNozzo is being promoted for his hard work over the last nine years."

"Thank you, Director," Tony was quick to say, unaccustomed to all the compliments thrown his way in the last ten minutes.

"No, Tony. You're a Team Leader now so... it's Leon," he grinned.

"Thanks si—Leon," Tony grinned back as they shook hands.

"Good luck. I'm sure you'll do a da*n good job."

"I'll do my best, Leon," Tony resolutely vowed.

"As you've always done," Vance nodded as he let Tony's hand go and left the bullpen.

Tony holstered his gun, picked up his backpack and a box with his belongings. He took a deep breath and smiled, the expression a bit forced. "Okay. I guess this is the right moment to say goodbye."

McGee quickly walked over to his desk. "I really am happy for you Tony. I'm just sorry to see you go."

"You wanted this desk the day you arrived, McGee," Tony teased.

"Tony, I—"

"No, problem. Just be on the lookout for Gibbs' head slaps now that I won't be here to take them for you."

"Good luck, Tony and..." they shook hands. "It's been an honor working with you."

Tony just nodded.

Then he raised his eyes, looked straight at Gibbs and nodded again before heading towards the elevator.

As he passed next to Ziva's desk, she opened her mouth to say something but Tony just shook his head and kept walking.

The ding of the elevator doors finally snapped Gibbs out of his shock. The Team Leader quickly walked to the elevator just in time to stop the doors that were closing behind DiNozzo. "Tony, this assignment won't last long. I'll get you back ASAP," he hurried to reassure his now former SFA, thinking this was another situation like the mole hunt when Tony was sent to US Seahawk and then US Reagan as Agent Afloat.

But Tony surprised him once again by shaking his head and saying, "Don't, Gibbs. I voluntarily accepted his assignment."

"You what?!" Gibbs' bark echoed in the bullpen and startled all people who were trying to get back to their jobs. "Why? This is your job, your home... your family."

"Is it?" Tony raised his eyebrows. He shook his head and added, "I don't think so. This was a team and a family. Not anymore."

"What the h*ll are you talking about?!"

"Family members respect and protect each other. They do not lie and betray and..." DiNozzo swallowed hard. "They respect their dead."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Gibbs' anger was loud and clear in his words.

"Think about it, boss...Gibbs. Please, tell Abby, Ducky and Jimmy that I'll call them later. Thank you and... thanks for everything, Gibbs." With these words Tony pushed the button to the parking lot and the elevator left the third floor of NCIS building.

"This talk doesn't end here," Gibbs whispered through clenched teeth as he walked towards the stairs. I need coffee.

 _"They respect their dead."_

These words kept echoing in Gibbs' mind on the way to the cafeteria and back to the bullpen.

"It doesn't end here, Tony...I'll get you back," the MCRT Leader promised himself without any regard of the fact that his SFA has voluntarily accepted the assignment in Pearl Harbor.

* * *

 **Tony's apartment.**

When Gibbs arrived at Tony's apartment, it was about 2100.

Tony'd just come out of the shower when he heard someone knocking on the door, he wrapped a towel around his waist and headed to the door.

''Gibbs,'' he said as he opened his door and saw the man in front of him.

''You don't look surprised, DiNozzo,'' Gibbs confidently said as he made his way into the apartment, stopping in front of Tony's luggage next to the door. ''In a hurry?'' he asked as he turned to face Tony.

''My flight is tomorrow at 0600,'' Tony informed him, closing the door.

''I told you you're not going anywhere,'' Gibbs said, raising his voice.

Tony half-grinned as he shook his head. ''You're no longer my boss, Gibbs,'' he calmly said as he headed to his bedroom and closed the door in Gibbs' face.

Gibbs was shocked by Tony's behavior and calmness. He thought that Tony'd have been upset of being sent away from his team.

In the bedroom, Tony change into his boxers briefs, a pair of faded blue jeans and an OSU t-shirt. Then, he took a deep breath and left the room ready to face Gibbs.

''Do you want a beer?'' Tony asked as he walked into the living room.

''No. I want an explanation for...for all of this!" Gibbs raised his voice as he widened his arms to indicate Tony's luggage.

Tony went to the kitchen, took a beer out of the refrigerator and came back to the living room. He slowly took a gulp of his cool beverage and then, with maddening calm, he answered, ''It's simple. Vance gave me an important assignment and I accepted the promotion," he replied as he sat down on the couch.

''Why?'' Gibbs asked on the verge of head-slapping him to get a straight answer.

''Why what? Why Vance promoted me? Or why I accepted it?''

''Why did you accept?'' Gibbs asked as he sat down next to Tony.

''Do you think I'm not ready? Do you think I'm not competent enough for this job?" Tony asked, looking straight into Gibbs' eyes and seeing confusion and sadness.

''You're more than ready, DiNozzo. You..." Gibbs swallowed hard because he was not used to complimenting his subordinates, then continued, "You're the best agent I've ever worked with and I trust you more than anyone else." He lowered his eyes as he intertwined his fingers and rested his elbows on his knees. "I don't understand why you want to leave."

Tony shook his head and stood up. Feeling the need to put some space between him and the man he had seen as a role model for years, he sat on the piano bench in front of Gibbs. ''Because... because I can't... I don't want to work with you anymore,'' Tony whispered but his voice sounded like the explosion of a bomb.

''You don't..." Gibbs was speechless. This was the last thing he thought he'd ever hear from Tony. "Me or the entire team?'' Gibbs' question was barely audible.

''You,'' Tony whispered as a lump closed his throat. He tried to swallow it with a gulp of beer but with no avail.

''Why?'' Gibbs was completely in shock now. His ego couldn't believe that any Agent—especially Tony—didn't want to work with him.

''You don't get it, don't you?'' Tony asked and Gibbs shook his head.

Tony stood up and went to the window. "Gibbs..."

''In the elevator you said that a team and family's members protect each other. They do not betray and lie... so it's about Ziva? I thought you forgave her. You accepted her back on the team.''

''You took her back on the team," Tony turned to him and didn't try to hide his disappointment and anger. "You never asked my opinion even though you knew how our last case had turned out," he swallowed hard, "how I killed Rivkin. We were a team, but now I'm...well I am your SFA only when it suits you.''

''So you feel bypassed? Is it just this? You're leaving the team that has been your home and your family for more than 8 years because you think I don't respect your authority?'' Gibbs asked, derision clear in his voice.

''Gibbs, do you really think this is the reason behind my decision?" Tony sneered, as he raised one of his eyebrows.

''No,'' Gibbs shook his head as he stood up as well and stood by Tony at the window.

''In the elevator, I said something else,'' Tony said, drinking some more beer. ''I told you that a family respects its dead.''

''Yes. So you think I didn't respect...''

''Kate,'' Tony firmly said as he locked eyes with Gibbs.

''Don't you dare! I respected Kate and I—'' Gibbs barked in Tony's face.

''No, you didn't!'' Tony shouted back.

''What?!" Gibbs raised his voice even more.

Now they were face-to-face, fighting a battle of fiery stares.

''You let her assassin's accomplice sit at her desk and take her place!" Tony was furious: Gibbs has never seen him so angry.

''Jenny forced Ziva on the team!"

''I'm not talking about the first time, even though that didn't make any sense. I'm talking about now," Tony explained as he took a deep breath in the lame attempt to calm down a bit.

''You're the one who brought her back from Somalia,'' Gibbs fired back angrily.

''First of all, I planned that mission because I wanted to stop a terrorist cell before someone else died. Second, once we found out she was alive, what do you think I should do? Leave her there? I'm not a monster Gibbs.''

''You told her you couldn't live without her. I've heard you on the mic,'' Gibbs said, sure to hit Tony under the belt.

''I'd have said the same thing about anyone of you... even Vance,'' Tony chuckled self-deprecatingly. ''And... she'd just told me that she'd preferred anyone else. It didn't mean anything.''

''So I shouldn't have accepted her back on the team?'' Gibbs asked. His question sounded more like he was challenging the younger man to question his authority, but Tony surprised him with a firm nod. ''Why?''

''I was ready to forget... no, not forget, I was ready to move on after what happened in May during Rivkin case and in Israel, but I can't work with...you, after what Vance told me.''

''What did he tell you?'' Gibbs asked silently cursing his Director.

''Ziva was in US before Ari killed Kate."

"Yes," Gibbs nodded.

"Yes? 'Ya mean, you knew she was here before she came to NCIS HQ and started lying to all of us?" Tony was shocked.

Gibbs rolled his eyes, da*ning himself for that slip. "When Ziva was framed by Eschel and asked my help, we went to a Mossad safe house. I asked her why Eschel should know about that house and she said that he was part of Ari's extraction team and that she had prepared that house for Ari for that mission."

"That means she was in US days before she showed up at our HQ." Tony shook his head. "D*mmit Gibbs. She knew Ari was out of control! She knew Ari knew everything about us! She even gave him a file about all members of our team for Christ's sake!''

''So?"

''So?" Tony raised his eyebrows astonished by his former boss' blindness. "She could have stopped Ari before he killed Kate.'' Gibbs opened his mouth, but Tony stopped him. "Don't tell me that you hadn't thought about that too.'' He stared hard at his former boss.

Tony was like a river in flood now. ''If I hadn't seen the bomb in the car, McGee and Kate would have died that day. If I hadn't been as fast as I was, I'd have died in the car explosion. If Ari's accomplice hadn't missed the target, McGee'd have died on the pier. If...'' Tony stopped just a second to take a breath. ''If Kate hadn't taken the bullet for you, you'd have died on the da*n roof. If Ari weren't so cruel, he would have killed you, me and Kate without a second thought...we're lucky he was so sick that decided to make you suffer by killing just Kate,'' he bitterly smiled.

''Tony, I—"

''All of this happened because Ziva lied to our faces while she tried to help her brother escape.''

''She killed Ari in my basement and saved my life.'' Gibbs tried to justify himself more than her.

''This is what you thought three years ago when you didn't know about Eli's orders, but now?" Tony replied and without waiting for an answer from a very upset Gibbs, he added, "When we came back from Israel, Vance told you everything and you still brought her back on the team. It doesn't make any sense and it offends Kate's memory.''

''She was not following her father's orders when she killed Ari.''

''Who told you that? Ziva?" Tony looked at Gibbs in disbelief as he wondered how was possible that such a great investigator was so dumb too. ''Wake up, Gibbs! What did you expect her to say? She manipulated you,'' Tony chuckled.

''It's not so easy to manipulate me, DiNozzo,'' Gibbs growled as he stared at Tony angrily.

''No? What did she tell you? Let me think..." Tony started rubbing his chin as he left the window and started pacing his living room. "We were the only family she has?'' he looked at Gibbs. ''Nah! Too generic," he wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "She's alone in the world?" he looked at Gibbs again. "Maybe, but not enough personal... mmmmm... and her father is dead to her?'' Again he looked at Gibbs. ''No? Just part of it?''

Gibbs averted his eyes and Tony said, ''There must be more than this... mmmmm... what she could have told you?'' Tony studied his former boss and after a few seconds he snapped his fingers, ''I get it! You're the only daddy that I have,'' he pretended to cry. ''Nah! It's not possible. You would never let her ma—" he tilted his head as he observed Gibbs' posture. ''You did... you let her manipulate you like that?!"

''I didn't! She didn't manipulate me!"

''She used your pain from your daughter's death to play you!''

"Don't you dare talk about Kelly!" Gibbs roared.

Tony blinked. ''That was too far, sorry," he conceded. _But it what she did,_ Tony thought. "But answer this: are you sure that she didn't let Ari kill Kate so she could take her place in our team and gain your trust as Eli ordered her?''

"No, I wasn't," Gibbs admitted.

Tony looked at him in betrayal, ready to walk away but Gibbs held up his hand.

"But I checked into it. Went over every piece of evidence I could find. Her story checks out." He scrubbed his hand over his face. "God, DiNozzo, do you really think I'd let her on the team if I thought any of you would be at risk?"

DiNozzo shrugged. "I guess I don't know anymore," he said as he walked away from his former boss.

''So you're leaving us because of her?'' Gibbs asked, deadly serious.

''No, because of you," Tony turned and pointed at Gibbs with his index. "You let all of this mess happen and you did nothing. It's not about Ziva, Eli David, Rivkin, me or my career. It's about you. You should have told me the truth about Ziva and Ari, and after we saved her, you shouldn't have taken her back on the team... or at least you should have talked to me after what happened back in May.''

''I can fire her if it stops you from leaving,'' Gibbs said hopefully, but saw Tony shaking his head.

''No. I don't even remember how much cr*p I've tolerated in my life, but there was one thing that I've always trusted and believed in,'' Tony seriously said.

''What?''

''You. You were my mentor, my best friend, my boss... my role model... but now... I don't know you anymore and it scares me.'' Tony shook his head. ''You know that, despite what people think, I don't care so much about myself.''

Gibbs acknowledged the statement with a nod. ''That's a thing that I've always admired and feared in you: your absolute lack of concern for your own safety."

''I told you that I could move on after what happened in Israel, but I can't move on from your lack of trust in me and your absolute lack of respect for Kate. I'll always thank you for all of these fantastic years in your team and for all you taught me. You helped me to become the man that I wanted to be. You gave me a place to stay, a family. You gave me back the confidence that I had lost after Danny's betrayal, but...'' Tony swallowed the lump in his throat. ''But now the disappointment and the fear of not being able to trust you is too great. In our job we need to know our partner better than ourselves and trust among team members is imperative, but right now I can't say I trust you. Sorry," Tony took a deep breath. "I need to go, Gibbs.''

Tony looked Gibbs in his eyes and saw just pain and defeat staring back at him.

The older man nodded and headed to the door.

Gibbs opened the door and before leaving the apartment he only said, ''I've always trusted you,'' Gibbs said looking straight into Tony's eyes, his heart aching when he read doubts in the green orbs.

"Thanks for everything, Gibbs," Tony said, more out of courtesy than for sincere gratitude.

The disappointment and anger were still too deep and fresh, to make both men think clearly and remember all the positive things that there had been between them through the years.

Tony stayed on the threshold, watching at the man he had admired the most in his life slowly walk to the elevator with his shoulders hunched as if he was carrying the weight of the world.

Suddenly Gibbs stopped and turned. ''What did you mean with 'what happened in Israel'? Is it about Eli's interrogation?'' Tony shook his head still too upset to talk. ''So what?'' Gibbs insisted.

Tony cleared his throat. ''Ask Ziva... No, ask Vance. She could lie to you to save her worthless a**.'' He gave his former boss a sad smile and shut the door, leaving Gibbs standing there, staring open-mouthed at the closed wood paneling.

* * *

 ** _Now it's up to you._**

 ** _The End or To Be Continued?_**

 ** _Let me know, please :D_**


	2. Chapter 2

NB: I don't own anything of NCIS :(

I'm still shocked and amazed by all reviews, PMs, favs and alerts I got. Guys, you made me so happy!  
I'd never imagine that this little story would get such positive and enthusiastic feedbacks! GRAZIE!

\- Thank you so much to my BR, usa123. Without her help this story would be a disaster and not believable lol!

So, here's the second chapter... let's hope you like it as much as the first one, but... I don't know *evil grin*

(ps: notice the parallelism between the beginning and the end of the chapter)

 _ **"Choices & Consequences"**_

 _Chapter 2._

After a sleepless night Gibbs arrived at NCIS early the next morning. He sat down at his desk and put his cup of coffee on it. Immediately his eyes shifted towards Tony's desk…correction, Tony's former desk.

The Team Leader couldn't stop thinking about his talk with DiNozzo and was reviewing all that happened in the last five years.

After Kate's death, it seemed that his team couldn't catch a break. So many things had happened, but Gibbs had always hoped that fate'd stop beating them and they could move on in peace.

But it didn't happen and only now was Gibbs realizing that, even in the worst moments, he had only been able to count on one thing: Tony.

DiNozzo had always been by his side or, as Tony used to say, on his six.

"Tony," Gibbs whispered as he sank back in his chair.

Since the moment he'd wanted Tony for his SiC, Gibbs knew that, sooner or later, his SFA would leave the nest and get his own team. No one deserved it more than DiNozzo which was why he hadn't been surprised when Jenny had told him that Tony had done a fine job while he was in Mexico and that it was only thanks to DiNozzo that the team was still together.

At that time Gibbs had dismissed Jenny's positive words about Tony because he had felt threatened by the implication.

Gibbs shook his head and rubbed his face as he stood up and, with the cup of coffee in his hand, walked to the window that overlooked the Anacostia river.

Yes, after his return he had felt like the team was no longer his and his ego had reacted with arrogance and disrespect.

The team leader still remembered Tony's face when he had arrived in the bullpen with McGee and Ziva and had found his stuff tossed back on his old desk. McGee had been gloating with his blinding white teeth in plain sight while Ziva had been satisfied and had looked at Tony with a bit of derision. It had only lasted for a second, but Gibbs had seen the hurt in Tony's eyes. Then, the carefree mask had been put in place again and life continued as if nothing had happened: the loyal, faultless and respectful SFA and the funny guy who lighten the tension had come back and Gibbs had forgotten about that brief painful look.

Gibbs looked at his watch which read 0700. He looked at the sky and shook his head as he took a deep breath.

 _He's gone._

Tony was already on the flight that would bring him to his new life and his own team, away from all of them.

It was just Gibbs' fault.

Tony hadn't left when Gibbs or any of his other teammates had disrespected him. He hadn't left after Rivkin case, Vance's doubts and Ziva and her father's accusations. DiNozzo had left when his mentor had disrespected the memory of the person that Tony had treated, more than anyone else on the team, as a surrogate sister. DiNozzo had left because of his mentor's lack of trust in him.

 _I betrayed your trust and your faith in me._

Gibbs shook his head sadly, hearing the elevator dinging in the background.

"Hi, Boss," McGee's quite voice greeted him. Gibbs just nodded, seeing him entering the bullpen and walking towards his old desk.

"Not your desk anymore," the team leader barked. When McGee turned around, Gibbs just pointed at the first desk on the right.

"Yeah, I know," Tim nodded. "It's just that…" he walked over to Tony's former desk and stared at it, "…it's Tony's. I feel—"

"I know," Gibbs sympathetically nodded. "But life goes on and we can't stop it sometimes," he seriously added even though it was clear that was not what the older man felt.

The team leader walked back to his desk, watching McGee nod sadly in agreement then start to gather his belongings from his former desk and move them to his new one.

The elevator dinged again, this time signaling Ziva's arrival.

Gibbs had told McGee that life went on but who was he kidding?! His team would never be the same without Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo and Gibbs couldn't blame anyone except himself.

"Good morning!" Ziva greeted them cheerfully.

Gibbs just nodded once while McGee, who was now standing behind his new desk, widened his eyes as looked at her in astonishment.

"What?" Ziva asked annoyed.

"What?" Tim raised his eyebrows and saw Gibbs shaking his head out of the corner of his eye. "Tony just left yesterday and you act as nothing happened," the new SFA said with a raised voice.

"Oh that!" She dismissed her superior's words with a wave. "Tony chose to leave. He's the past and past is the past."

"Tony'll never be the past! He'll always be part of this team! He was here before me and you and," McGee slammed his fist down on the desk, "this will always be his desk!"

"So what? Are you just going to keep his seat warm while you wait for him to return?" Ziva mocked McGee.

"I'm going to try to make him proud of me and put into practice all that he taught me."

"Really?" Ziva challenged him. "You weren't so nice to DiNozzo when he was your SFA." An annoying smirk graced her face.

"Yeah," Tim sighed, hanging his head. "And I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

McGee's words surprised Gibbs enough for the team leader to look over at his new SFA.

"Tony is a great Agent and deserves his own team," McGee continued, meeting Gibbs' steady gaze, "but I'll miss him. I only now understand that he was a great mentor to me and that his pranks were just a way to toughen me up and teach me how to work under pressure."

Gibbs nodded his approval.

"You say so because he is not here, otherwise you—" Ziva interjected angrily but she saw cut off by Gibbs.

"Ziva," the team leader growled.

"Yes, Gibbs," she smiled graciously.

"Shut up and start working," the boss ordered and erased her smile from her face.

Ziva sat down at her desk while McGee finished his moving to his new desk.

The Team Leader shook his head as he got back to the file he was reviewing. He already missed his SFA.

* * *

 **Flight to Los Angeles.**

Meanwhile Gibbs' former SFA was flying to his new job and new life.

For the first time in years, Tony was peacefully sleeping like a baby...

TBC

* * *

I know... I know... not enough Tony, but you'll get much more in the next chapter *pinky promise*  
Please, review and let me know what you think. Thank you :)


	3. Chapter 3

NB: I don't own anything of NCIS :(

Remember that at the beginning of S7, Tony was about 36-37 years old ;)

Thank you all for your surprising and awesome support!

Thank you to my amazing and very patient BR, usa123 :)

 ** _"Choices & Consequences"_**

 _Chapter 3._

Throughout his years with NCIS, Tony had sometimes thought about the day he'd leave NCIS or when he'd take Gibbs' place at the head of the MCRT after the Boss'd retired.

He had pictured many scenarios but he'd never imagined that he would leave DC on bad terms with his mentor.

Tony sighed heavily as he leaned his head against the headrest of the seat on the flight that would take him to LA, where he'd take a flight to his final destination: the NCIS Field Office in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

The new Team Leader looked out of the window on his right.

 _Team Leader_ , he thought as he chuckled. _Anthony D. DiNozzo Jr., NCIS Team Leader,_ he shook his head. _My father would never believe it._

He took four files out of his briefcase. Vance had sent them to his home before he'd left but the new Team Leader hadn't had time to study them yet.

 _My agents_ , he softly smiled.

He read the names on the first pages: _Luke Walker, Leilani Moore, Samuel Lopez and Josephine Green._

 _A five-agent Team. This is going to be interesting._

Tony put the files back into the suitcase and rubbed his eyes as he tried to hide a yawn.

"Do you want a pillow, sir?" a kind voice asked.

Tony turned and saw the nice smile of a beautiful red-headed flight attendant. He instinctively smiled back. "Yes, please," he nodded.

A few seconds later, the woman was back with a very soft pillow. "May I bring anything else?"

"No, thanks," Tony answered as he took the pillow and tried to get comfortable in his seat. "Could you wake me up one hour before the landing, please?"

"Sure," she smiled and left.

Unfortunately sleep didn't come as easily as Tony hoped. What had happened in this DC kept playing in his mind over and over again...

 **Yesterday at NCIS HQ.**

Tony had asked Gibbs to tell Abby, Ducky and Palmer that he'd call them later but, just before leaving NCIS HQ, he had decided to say goodbye in person.

Tony knew even before entering the Lab that something was wrong.

No music. Just silence.

"Abby?" he tentatively called as he stepped into the lab but got no reply. So he walked a bit further and saw the woman staring at the monitors in front of her PC.

It seemed she was working, as if it was any other day of the week, but Tony could see the tension in her shoulders.

Abby was deliberately ignoring him...not a good sign.

"Abby?" he tried again.

She abruptly turned and, if looks could kill, Tony would have died instantly.

Abby's eyes spat fire. Her breath was heavy.

Tony was ready for a bit of anger but his friend was beyond angry. She was furious.

"I'm here to say..."

"WHAT?!"

"I wanted to say goodbye before..."

"DON'T! Don't say anything!" she stepped in front of him. "Go! Go away!" she pointed towards the door. "Go!"

"Abby, let me explain why I..."

"Explain? I don't want your excuses!" she sniffled. "You're abandoning us. You got your team and now you go away and abandon me and Gibbs." She dried her eyes with her hand, smearing mascara all over her cheeks.

"I'm not abandoning anyone. I'm leaving DC, but we'll keep in touch and—"

"Who's going to have Gibbs' six now, huh?" she angrily asked. "You have to stay and protect him. He's our boss and our mentor." She grabbed the cordless phone that was on her desk. "Here! Call Vance and tell him you changed your mind," she demanded as she pushed the phone into Tony's chest.

He looked at the phone and then at her. "No," he said, gently but firmly.

"Call him!" She raised her voice. "You've got to stay. This is my family and you can't destroy it. Gibbs would do anything for you and you've got to be grateful for his attention and stay."

"I'm leaving and I won't change my mind."

"Why?!" she pushed him.

"'cause I need to go. I can't stay here after things I learned recently. I can't, Abs," Tony shook his head.

"Don't 'Abs' me! You've got to stay period," she sounded as petulant as a child throwing a tantrum. "Gibbs..."

"Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs!" Tony lost his patience and exploded. "It's always and only about Gibbs! What about me, Abby? What about what I did for him and this team? What about what I feel? What about everything I went through all of these years?!"

"So you want us to thank you?" she challenged him. "Is it about this? Do you want a medal like Gibbs? Do you want to have your own team like him?" she added with a mocking tone. "Are you jealous?"

"What if I told you that I'm leaving for something that Gibbs did?" he shot back.

"Don't you dare say that you're leaving because Gibbs did something wrong and you can't work with him anymore!" Abby was so angry that her usually pale face was now red.

Tony just nodded.

"Gibbs can't do wrong. He's always right and you're just jealous because he's a great man, a decorated Marine Sniper and an amazing boss."

Tony took a deep breath and shook his head. "I guess this is all I needed to hear." He looked Abby straight in her eyes and added, "Goodbye, Abs," before he turned and left the Lab.

She followed him. "Tell me what he did wrong," she challenged him once more.

Tony stopped, pushed the elevator button and then turned. "I wanted to explain but you didn't want to listen. So... no…not my story to tell anymore. I'm done here."

The elevator door opened and Tony got in. They looked at each other one last time and Abby's breath faltered when she saw the pain and the anger in Tony's eyes.

 _ **##########**_

When he entered the Autopsy, Tony was still shocked and extremely upset by Abby's reaction. He couldn't believe the things she had told him and the anger he had heard in her voice.

Now he was hoping for a better reaction from Ducky and Palmer.

Both men were at the ME's desk talking.

"Oh, Anthony!" Ducky exclaimed as he stood up.

"It seems you were expecting me," Tony said gravely.

"Oh, you know this building better than anyone else, my dear lad. Even walls have ears," Ducky grinned.

"So you're leaving," Jimmy's low voice made Tony turn to him and nod.

They looked at each other for a brief moment but it was enough for both of them to understand what words couldn't explain.

Jimmy nodded and took a deep breath. "I'll miss you, Tony," he whispered.

"I'll miss you too, Autopsy Gremlin," Tony hugged the younger man, remembering all the times he and Jimmy had talked. He'd never have thought Jimmy Palmer would have become his best friend but it happened and now DiNozzo hoped that their friendship would survive the drastic change he was giving his life.

Tony felt Ducky's hand on his shoulder so he freed himself from Jimmy's embrace and turned. "I will greatly miss our talks over cups of Earl Grey, Anthony. You should know we both understand your decision and," he looked Tony straight in the eye, "we agree with you."

"Really?" Tony's green eyes widened as he saw both men nod. He felt like a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

"Yes, my dear lad." Ducky squeezed his shoulder. "Mr. Palmer talked with Director Vance's secretary," he cleared his throat. "She heard everything."

"So we know why you're leaving, Tony," Jimmy clarified.

"Give Jethro some time and he will understand your reasons."

Tony stared at the nice ME for a brief moment but it was long enough for the older man to read all his doubts in Tony's green eyes.

"I know that it's difficult for you to believe me but trust me, it will happen," Ducky said as he patted Tony's shoulder.

"Thanks, Duck. But it's not just Gibbs...it's Abby too," Tony explained, his brief moment of happiness gone.

Palmer frowned and was about to say something unpleasant about their Lab Goth before Ducky intervened.

"Oh, do not worry about Abigail," he began as he waved with his hand dismissively. "She is such a brilliant scientist but she lacks an understanding of the real world especially when it comes to this team." He shook his head and sighed. "She is so blind when it comes to Jethro. In her eyes, he can't do any wrong. He is her hero and no one can question his infallibility."

"But it's wrong!" Palmer exclaimed. "Tony's like her brother and she should support him!"

"I know, Mr. Palmer. I know," Ducky nodded gravely. "Anthony, after you leave, Abigail will realize how wrong she was to you and she will get mad at Jethro because he let you go."

Tony chuckled, already painting in his mind Abby's tantrums and Gibbs' anger.

"So she will plague..."

At that word, Tony cringed.

"Oh, sorry," the ME was quick to apologize. "Definitely the wrong choice of words, my lad."

"No problem, Ducky," Tony softly smiled.

"What was I saying?" Ducky frowned. "Oh yes! Abigail will bug you with tons of emails, texts and probably letters too. Reply, not reply, it will be up to you."

"I'd let her stew for a while first," Jimmy chimed in.

"I agree with Mr. Palmer."

"And I agree with both of you," Tony smiled the first real smile since he had entered Vance's office. "I'm just sorry I won't see you both every day."

"We can chat via Skype every day if you want," Palmer suggested hopefully.

"You can bet on that, Jimmy!" Tony exclaimed. "Ducky, you..."

"I'm sure Mr. Palmer here will be more than happy to teach me how to use Skype or any other device that will help us to keep in touch."

"Next summer you could take a trip to Hawaii," Tony offered.

"That'd be amazing, Tony!" Palmer exclaimed.

"Mr. Palmer is right. I would be delighted to visit you in Hawaii, Anthony. Will you show us the Kilauea Volcano?" Ducky asked with an amused glint in his eyes. "It's the only one that has erupted since 1983 which would make it interesting to see the live lava," he added.

"Of course."

"So we have a plan for next summer." The older man was as excited as a child going to Disneyland. "We will send you a list of all the things we want to see."

"Perfect, Ducky," Tony nodded then checked his watch. "I need to go now," he said softly.

"It's been an honor to meet and work with you, Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo." Ducky shook the younger man's hand.

Tony nodded, too moved to say anything.

"Thanks for being the first friend I had here." Jimmy hugged Tony as soon as Ducky let his hand go.

"We'll keep in touch, Jimmy," Tony whispered in his ear. "Thank you for being such a good listener and friend."

 **On the flight to LA.**

This last memory helped Tony to relax.

Gibbs and Abby's words and behavior still hurt but the new Team Leader decided to archive those bad memories for later.

He wanted a positive start for this new phase of his life so he decided to focus his mind on Vance, McGee, Ducky and Jimmy's words.

Tony slightly reclined his seat and shifted until he was comfortable. Then, with a content sigh and a smile on his face, he finally fell asleep.

For the first time in years, Tony slept as peacefully as a baby.

TBC

* * *

I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know what you think, please. Thank you :)

See you in the next chapter :)


	4. Chapter 4

NB: I don't own anything of NCIS :(

Thank you to all of you, my readers. I hope I'll never disappoint you :)

Thank you so much to my BR USA123. Without your precious advices, this FF would never get so many reviews and compliments. You're amazing! :)

 _ **"Choices & Consequences"**_

 _Chapter 4._

 _"Ask Ziva... No, ask Vance. She would lie to you to save her worthless a**."_

Tony's words kept echoing in Gibbs' head on his way from the coffee shop to NCIS HQ.

 _I thought I knew everything that happened in Israel... I was with Tony all the time except for a few minutes while I was on the phone with McGee_ , the Team Leader reflected while he got into the elevator.

 _Tony had just been interrogated by Eli and had asked_ _for_ _a few minutes alone._

He pushed the button to the third floor.

 _I saw him entering the bathroom so I went out. I stopped on the building's external stairs and called McGee_.

He leaned his head against the elevator wall.

 _I was looking the garden below so I didn't see Tony leaving the bathroom. If Tony told me to ask Ziva, it means something happened between them while I was not with him. Did she enter the men's room again?_

The elevator door opened and Gibbs left the machine. He walked towards his desk and noticed that McGee was following him with his stare while Ziva didn't even looked up from the file on her desk.

 _Tony was used to it. I'm sure that wasn't the problem... and not even part of it_ , he silently chuckled.

Gibbs put the cup of coffee on his desk and sat down. His eyes met McGee's. The younger man looked uncomfortable and worried. Gibbs raised his eyebrows.

"Boss, Director Vance wants you in his office immediately," his new SFA announced.

The older man nodded and quickly left the bullpen.

 _At least now I'll finally know why my SFA left._

* * *

 **NCIS Director's Office.**

Gibbs opened Director's office door and was greeted by Vance and the SecNav Davenport.

 _This was not about DiNozzo._

"Gibbs." Vance nodded and gestured for him to sit at the conference table in front of his desk.

"Agent Gibbs." Davenport nodded as well as he took place at the head of the table.

"Sir," Gibbs replied, sitting down on his right and in front of Vance.

"We've got a situation we want you to investigate," Vance announced.

"It's a long running case that we've being monitoring for years," the SecNav began and saw the Team Leader slightly raising his eyebrows.

"I think it's the weirdest case we've ever had," Vance added and got a nod from the SecNav in agreement.

"What's the matter?" Gibbs asked. He hated stalling.

"Data theft," SecNav replied.

"So a mole."

"But not a normal mole," Vance shook his head.

"What do you mean, Director?" Gibbs asked, surprised.

"He or she steals top-secret NCIS, Navy and Marine Corps data but, as far as we can tell, does nothing with it."

At these words Gibbs frowned. "So these people steal our secrets but don't use them?" he clarified.

"Exactly," the SecNav replied. "It seems someone wants to know what we do for Navy and Corps operations and deployments, but then nothing happens."

"It doesn't make any sense," Gibbs agreed.

Both the other men nodded.

"How did you find out about this theft?" Gibbs asked.

"Our computer techs noticed an intrusion in our system. They tracked the signal, but unfortunately these people are really good. The signal jumps back and forth between the US, Europe and Middle East. Nothing we can nail down." Davenport explained.

"The last lead brought us to Denmark but it was a dead lead. That computer belonged to an elderly woman who uses her PC to buy cross-stich schemes and exchange recipes with other old ladies all around the world," Vance added.

"When our techs catch onto the signal, the leak stops for months," Davenport added, shaking his head in frustration. "They must be really good 'cause we can't locate the origin. We're not able to find the NCIS Office from which this leak starts."

"We are contacting all NCIS Team Leaders around the world," Vance informed Gibbs, who was glaring at him. Ignoring the look, Vance continued, "All of you will be investigating your respective offices. You can't ask your Agents' help since any of them could be the mole."

At that moment, the SecNav's cell rang. After a brief talk, the man left the room, leaving Vance and Gibbs alone.

"You're asking all Team Leaders to investigate and spy on their own Agents, Leon?" Gibbs asked as soon as the SecNav closed the door. Vance nodded. "We can't do that... and you know it."

"These are your orders and this is what you're going to do, Agent Gibbs," the NCIS Director firmly said.

They stared each other for a brief moment then Vance got up, walked across the room, and sat down behind his desk. "That's all, Gibbs."

"No. It's not all," Gibbs took a step towards the Director's desk. "We need to talk about my SFA."

"McGee? What did he do?" Vance innocently asked.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs corrected him, barely hiding his anger.

"Special Agent DiNozzo is not your SFA anymore, Gibbs. He's a Team Leader now."

"I want to know why he left. He—"

"I offered him his own team and he accepted the assignment."

"Why?! Why did you offer him a team?"

"Do you think he didn't deserve it?" Vance challenged the older man.

"No," Gibbs shook his head. He took a deep breath, moved a chair in front of Vance's desk and sat down. "DiNozzo is ready to be a Team Leader and I'm sure he'll do a great job."

"So, what's the problem?" Vance kept pretending to not know why Gibbs was so upset.

"Tony should have taken my place when I'll retire."

"And maybe he will," Vance raised his eyebrows. "Did you want him to wait 'till you decided to retire? Don't you think it's a bit selfish, Gibbs?" And with these words the Director earned a trademark Gibbs' glare that didn't affect him a bit. "Tony had to put his life and career on standby until you had enough of working?" Vance stood up, rounded the desk and perched on it in front of Gibbs. "The Hawaii Team is a good place to start and to improve his skills as Team Leader, though we both know that he doesn't need it."

"So why?"

"What are you looking for Gibbs?" Vance suddenly asked.

"I talked to Tony last night and he told me he left because he can't work with me anymore," Gibbs stood up and started pacing the office. "He doesn't trust me anymore and—"

"And I'm sure this was like a punch in the face for you."

"Tony told me he can't trust me because, after I learned that Ziva was following Eli's orders when she saved me from Ari, I took her back on the Team," Gibbs added and Vance nodded "Why did you tell him?" the Team Leader asked and the Director was surprised by the pain in those words. He expected anger, but not pain.

"I thought you had told him. Then, when I found out that DiNozzo didn't know anything, I felt he needed to know."

They stared each other for a brief moment, then Vance asked, "Why didn't you tell him?"

Gibbs stood up headed towards the window. "Because I knew Tony wouldn't understand," he said softly.

"Or you knew that DiNozzo would understand too much?"

Gibbs turned and stared at his Director.

"You knew Tony'd understand that you let your paternal feelings for Ziva influence your decision and you didn't want your SFA to see you vulnerable and manipulable," Vance added as he walked over to the older man.

Then the phone on the Director's desk rang. It was his secretary reminding him of his meeting with the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon, so Vance quickly grabbed his suitcase and walked toward the door.

"Leon," Gibbs called him just before he left. "Tony talked about something that happened in Israel and told me to ask you. What was he talking about?"

Vance just shook his head. "You should ask Ziva."

"Tony said it would be better if I asked you," Gibbs replied as he met Vance at the door. "If it's something that made my SFA leave, I need to know. STAT," he added, regaining his usual confident tone.

After looking at his watch, Vance answered. "We'll talk about it, tonight. Now I really need to go. Kayla and Jarred will spend the night at their friends' so I'll be at your place at 2000."

"Okay," Gibbs nodded as they walked towards the elevator.

"Do you have a DVD player?"

"A DVD player?" Gibbs asked surprised. "Yes. Yes, Tony got me one for my birthday but I never use it."

"Is it hooked up?" Vance asked with a half-smile and got a nod from Gibbs. "Good. See you tonight, Gibbs," he said before pushing the bottom.

The elevator door closed and Gibbs stayed there staring at it and wondering what Vance was going to show him.

* * *

 **Honolulu International Airport.**

Tony felt both relaxed and excited as he entered the airport in Pearl Harbor. He immediately collected his suitcases and was about to leave the airport to look for a cab when he heard someone calling his name.

The new Team Leader turned and found a beautiful woman smiling at him. "Are you Special Agent DiNozzo?" she asked though she already knew the answer.

"Yes, and you are..." he smiled back.

"I'm Jo," she answered a bit nervous. Tony raised his eyebrows so she added, "I mean, I'm Special Agent Josephine Green and I'm here to drive you home or the office. As you like it," she added.

"Shakespeare?" Tony asked as he followed her out of the airport.

"You know Shakespeare?" she asked pleasantly surprised and got a nod from Tony.

"So do you," he added as he put his suitcases into the truck of her Jeep.

"Majored in English Literature and Creative Writing," she explained as they both got into the car.

"Good. So you can unleash your imagination and use your talent to create perfect fake ID for when we go undercover."

She regaled him with a wide smile as she started the engine and left the airport. It seemed that Jo already liked her new Boss.

"So, office or home?" she asked.

"Office," Tony smiled. "Duty 'oer pleasure."

TBC

* * *

I hope you liked this new chapter.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	5. Chapter 5

NB: I don't own anything of NCIS

Thank you my amazing BR, usa123. You're great!

Thank you to all of you for your support, reviews and alerts :D

 _ **"Choice & Consequences"**_

 _Chapter 5._

 **Pearl Harbor.**

Less than 10 minutes later, Jo parked her jeep in front of NCIS Field Office in Hawaii.

Tony got out of the car and stopped in front of the building.

 _My new job. My first command after being Agent Afloat for four months._

He took a deep breath and, to his surprise, he didn't feel nervous as he expected.

"This way, sir," Jo's voice brought him back to reality. "Your team is waiting for you." She smiled as she opened the door.

Tony nodded and followed her inside.

As soon as DiNozzo entered the main room, he had a bad feeling. He couldn't place it, but he felt that there was something wrong.

Something Tony didn't like, but what?

* * *

 **DC.**

Gibbs was at his desk trying to work but he was too distracted by all that had happened over the last two days.

"Boss?" McGee's worried voice brought him back from his musing.

The Team Leader just looked at his Agent... no, his SFA.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, why shouldn't I be?" he scowled trying to 'scare' the younger man and show him that Tony's sudden goodbye hadn't affected him a bit.

"No... I mean... nothing," Tim stuttered and got back to his work while Gibbs returned to the file in front of him but, at that moment, their case was the last thing on his mind.

* * *

 **Pearl Harbor.**

All people in the room turned and stared at the newcomer.

To be honest, a few were not pleased by his young face, but a majority of them sighed in relief. They had feared that the new Team Leader would be another very seasoned Agent who was just waiting for retirement and that TPTB had sent them to Hawaii wrongly thinking that, in that natural paradise, nothing bad would happen.

Tony stared back, but didn't smile his usual wide smile. That uncomfortable feeling he had felt when he had crossed the threshold was still there and, after what had happened in DC, the new Team Leader was determined to not let his guard down too soon.

"Agent DiNazzo!" a baritonal voice made him turn to his left. A short mustachioed bald man with too many pounds around his waist was walking towards him with a very happy smile.

Tony smiled back and shook the man's hand but didn't miss the irritated glances of the agents in front of him and Jo's annoyed sigh.

"Agent Lee," Tony said.

"DiNazzo, I'm so—"

"DiNozzo," Tony corrected him but it seemed the older man didn't understand his mistake. "It's DiNozzo, not DiNazzo," he explained. Out of the corner of his eye, Tony saw the man behind Lee shaking his head.

 _They don't like him. Everyone seems annoyed and fed-up._ _Not the best place to work in... but there's something more that bothers me_ _…I just_ _can't place it._

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," Lee smiled. "Well, we're happy to have you here so quickly. Come on, let's have a chat in my office." He turned and guided Tony to a small room clearly built after the rest of the building.

Tony nodded his 'thank you' to Jo and followed Lee into his office.

"You've your own office," Tony observed as he sat down in front of the older man.

"You can bet on that!" Lee exclaimed, grinning. "I'm the boss and I want my space to work in peace. We need to keep a certain distance between us and our subordinates," he winked.

A fake half-smile was Tony's only answer.

 _That's what bothered me!_  
 _I felt tension and distance in this office._  
 _It's going to take time and lot of work to build real team harmony._

* * *

 **DC.**

The day passed, eventless: no new leads or news on their current case.

At 1800 Gibbs let his agents go home and he followed them a few minutes later.

While he was driving home, he got a call from Vance who told Gibbs he'd be over at about 2000.

After arriving, Gibbs sanded for an hour in the lame attempt to relax, then he took a long shower and started cooking his famous steaks.

 _"Cowboy-style steaks!"_

Gibbs grinned as Tony's voice echoed in his mind.

 _Oh, DiNozzo...what happened to us? What did the hell happened?_

* * *

 **Pearl Harbor.**

Agent Lee showed Agent DiNozzo around the building but, despite Tony's multiple requests, he didn't bother to introduce him to his future team.

"Since you're already here, would you mind if I use my remaining holidays so I can pack and get back to my beloved Texas ASAP? I've enough of all this sand, sun and sea," he laughed loudly but he was the only one.

The more time Tony spent around Lee, the more he didn't like this man and also understood why Vance had needed to reorganize the Hawaii field office.

"No problem," Tony nodded. "Enjoy your holiday/pre-retirement," he tried to joke back.

"Perfect!" the older man cheered as he rummaged in his pocket and extracted a bunch of keys. "The blue one is for agents' curricula," he started gesturing with his head towards the file cabinets that adorned one wall of his office. "The yellow one is for current cases. The red one for Autopsy reports of the current cases. The silver one is for the door of this office," Lee explained before giving Tony the keyring.

He took his bag, left his room and shook the other agents' hands. Tony noticed that no one showed any sorrow or tried to fake a tear.

As soon as DiNozzo was sure that Agent Lee had left the parking lot, he turned and again he saw all agents staring at him.

Tony took a deep breath and, though he was going to talk to his agents for the first time, he didn't feel nervous. He was excited and felt very confident.

"As you know I'm going to be your Team Leader," he addressed all the people in the room. He looked at his watch. "I'll give you two hours to eat and gather all intel you need to report me about all the cases you're investigating right now."

The older agents widened their eyes in disbelief shocked by his 'demands'. Tony noticed this attitude, mentally took note and added, "A lot of things are going to change in this office. I hope to have your cooperation and help." And, with these words, he purposely gazed at the agents he felt didn't like him.

"I am your boss now and, though I'm younger than some of you, I demand respect for my role and my orders," he very seriously added. "I'm not a tyrant, so I'm ready to listen to your ideas and suggestions, but the last word is mine. We are a team and as a team we need to work."

Silence.

"Now go. I need to make a call," he said as he entered Lee's office.

 _This room is going to disappear very soon!_ Tony thought as he called Vance, unlocked the drawer with the agents' file and looked inside.

 _Twelve files in two hours. Tony sighed. I can do that!_

He sat down at the desk where Agent Lee had left a big mess. _Gibbs would kill him!_ Tony grinned.

"Vance!" he heard on the other side of the line.

"Direc—Leon," Tony said. He still felt uncomfortable calling his Director by his first name.

"Tony!" the Director exclaimed and he sounded truly happy to hear him.

"We're going to need to change a few things—actually, many things—and I was hoping for your advice and help."

"Sure. I'll be glad to help you—" A very short pause. "Agent DiNozzo."

"Thank you."

"May I call you back later?"

"Sure. I still have a long day ahead."

* * *

 **DC.**

Vance arrived at Gibbs' in the exact moment his cell rang. "Vance!" he answered.

"Leon," he heard Tony's voice and it was clear that the new Team Leader still felt uncomfortable calling his Director by his first name.

"Tony!" the Director exclaimed and made sure to show Tony that he was truly happy to hear him.

"We're going to need to change a few things—actually, many things—and I was hoping for your advice and help," the younger man said.

Tony's serious tone hit the Director _. I knew that behind that face of clown there was a tough boss._

Vance rang Gibbs' doorbell.

"Sure. I'll be glad to help you—" He paused as he waited for Gibbs to open the door. "Agent DiNozzo," he added with a grin.

The grey-haired man's eyes widened. He waited for Vance to end the call and immediately asked, "How's he doing?"

"He's fine," Vance replied, entering the house and sniffing the air. "It smells good in here!"

"Leon! Stop stalling and show me what made Tony leave!" Gibbs roared.

"Actually, it's not what made Tony leave—it's something he hid to protect the team."

Gibbs frowned.

"Are you sure you want to watch it now?" Vance asked.

"YES!"

"Ok," he nodded. "You might put what you cooked in the fridge, 'cause I'm afraid you won't feel like eating after you watch the video."

"That bad?" Gibbs' blue eyes widened.

Vance just nodded and put the DVD in the player and pushed 'play'.

"Mossad HQ?" Gibbs asked, staring at the screen as he sat down. "Why?" he turned to Vance who sitting next to him.

The NCIS Director just raised his eyebrows.

They watched the entire video in silence; Gibbs' eyes never left the screen while Vance never looked away from the older man.

Vance could see a vein pulsing on Gibbs' temple and the man clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles were white.

The video ended, but Gibbs did nothing. He seemed frozen but Vance could read the turmoil playing out over his face.

Suddenly the Team Leader stood up but he didn't move. He stayed there, staring at the black screen. His breathing was heavy as if he had run ten miles. His forehead was beaded with sweat and Vance was afraid he could have a heart attack.

"Gibbs?" he softly called, standing up as well and slightly touching the man's arm.

"What are we going to do?" Gibbs asked hoarsely.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Gibbs finally looked at his Director. "Nothing?!" he repeated, his voice raised.

"We can't, Gibbs."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Leon?!" Gibbs was shouting now.

"Gibbs, we have a case. Remember?" Vance answered calmly.

"Leon..."

"We can't change anything at NCIS. We're investigating all agents and we need to make it look like everything is fine and normal."

"I want her off my team and sued for attacking her superior. I want her to be investigated by IA for this assault and all that happened during Rivkin case," Gibbs said through clenched teeth. His voice was low and scary.

"Gibbs, try to understand. We—"

"Understand?! Understand, Leon?!" Gibbs moved away from his Director.

He stopped in the middle of the room and turned towards Vance. "She assaulted her superior who was already wounded. She pointed a loaded gun at him twice and, if I'm not mistaking, the safety was not on and her finger was on the trigger."

He took a deep breath.

"What if Tony had tried to defend himself?"

He shook his head.

"I want her investigated, charged and off my team STAT!"

"Gibbs, you took her back on the team," Vance reminded him.

"I didn't have all the intel," Gibbs replied.

"You had enough intel to fire her, but you didn't," Vance challenged him and, when Gibbs frowned, he added, "The Rivkin case and what I told you about Ari and Eli's orders when we came back from Israel."

Gibbs closed his eyes tightly and shook his head. With his head bowed he asked, sotto voce, "And Tony didn't say anything?"

"Nope. He wanted to protect the team. He buried his pain and doubts, and moved on 'cause he wanted to respect your decision."

"No," Gibbs whispered. "He didn't say anything because he felt betrayed by my decision. I didn't ask his opinion. I disrespected my SFA but he was ready to move on for his loyalty to me, our team and the only family he had."

Gibbs sniffled and Vance was sure he saw unshed tears in the older man's eyes.

"But you told Tony about Eli's orders... a thing I never told him...I should have told him everything when we got back from Tel Aviv but I didn't and I lost his trust."

Vance just nodded.

Gibbs headed towards the window and looked out. "Trust is imperative for Tony," he said in such a low voice that Vance almost missed it. "He's been betrayed since the day he was born by his father, his relatives and then his partner in Baltimore and... now me."

He turned to Vance and the Director was shocked by how old Gibbs looked now.

"Tony's right. I betrayed him and Kate's memory," then he turned again and returned to looking out the window.

"Gibbs, I..."

"Go home, Leon," he murmured.

"Are you going to fire Ziva?"

Gibbs shook his head.

"Goodnight, Gibbs," the Director said, picking up his bag.

Gibbs didn't answer.

* * *

 **Pearl Harbor.**

Oblivious to what was happening in DC, Tony was at his new desk reading the personnel files.

 _Martin Abner, 47. Marine Corps for 20 years then FLETC and NCIS in Barhein and Norfolk._

TBC

* * *

Please, review and let me know what you think about this chapter.

Thank you :D


	6. Chapter 6

NB: I don't own anything of NCIS :(

Thank you so much to all of you, my faithful readers :*)

USA123, you're amazing! :)

 ** _"Choice & Consequences"_**  
 _Chapter 6._

 **Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.**

"Agent Abner. Agent Wilcox." Tony stood up and greeted the older men in front of him. "Please sit."

The newcomers nodded their greeting then sat down.

"I asked you to join me first because I have some ideas for this office," Tony began, "and I'd like to discuss them with you, since you're the most seasoned agents and the ones that have been here the longest." He grinned as he saw Wilcox's eyes widen. "Surprised?" he asked, having expected that reaction after meeting the former Team Leader.

"Yes," Abner answered while Wilcox just nodded and they both seemed to relax.

Tony shrugged. "It wasn't hard to figure out that all agents older than me didn't seem happy to have a younger man as Team Leader."

At these words, Abner and Wilcox looked at each other and raised their eyebrows, impressed by Tony's ability to read people.

"Don't think I don't understand it—it would bother me too if a younger man gave me orders, but Director Vance thinks I'm the right choice so we've got to deal with it," Tony added firmly. "In this office there are thirteen agents including me and I find it stupid, confusing and counterproductive that we all work on the same cases. So I'm going to create three sub-teams and you're going to be the team leaders of one of them."

Abner's eyes went impossibly wide while Wilcox took a deep breath. They'd been thinking the same for years and hearing a younger say it, made them feel hopeful for the future. They sat up straighter and Abner even adjusted his jacket, ready to listen to Tony.

"Really?" Wilcox asked.

Tony just nodded. "I'm going to meet all agents and choose my agents... 'ya know, I'm the boss so the first choice is mine," he joked and made Abner smile. "Then you will create your teams. You'll be both in charge of your own team and cases, but I want to be read in anything you do and you've got to report me every night or any time I ask you. Deal?"

"Deal, sir," Anber nodded.

"Don't call me sir, I wor—" Tony started to say but stopped and took a deep breath. I'm not Gibbs.

"Everything alright, Agent DiNozzo?" Wilcox asked in concern.

"Yeah, sorry," Tony replied, shaking away the flashback. "Please do not call me sir. It's DiNozzo or Boss. Okay?" he smiled and got a nod from the other men. "Good. Are these files about the current cases you're investigating?"

"Yes. Since Agent Lee wanted us all to work on the same cases, we gathered all our intel—you don't need to ask the other agents," Wilcox responded.

"Thank you so much. I'll study them tonight and tomorrow we'll discuss them. Is there anything urgent I need to know about?" Tony asked.

Both men in front of him shared a brief look that Tony didn't miss. "What?" he asked.

"We are investigating four cases. Two are about two young Marines who stole spirits from the base storage and got drunk watching a movie," Abner explained. All three men chuckled and shook their heads.

"The third case is very sad," Abner sighed. "Sergeant Pruitt was just 37. He had served two tours in Iraq. On his last mission, he was injured in an explosion and lost both of his legs. After rehabilitation, he was sent back here and given a desk in the basement."

"But he was a Marine and he couldn't ride a desk for the rest of his life," Wilcox added. "He tried for almost a year, but after his fiancè left him..."

Tony grimaced, already suspecting what he was going to hear next.

"He tried to kill himself but the paramedics arrived in time to save him," Abner added in a somber tone. "He tried again a few months later and this time he succeeded. But, as you know—"

"We investigate every death as if it were a murder," Tony finished and got two nods in response.

"And the fourth one?"

"That one's very complicated," Wilcox stated.

"Though Agent Lee thought otherwise," Abner barely hid his anger.

"What happened?" Tony asked, rubbing his face and taking a deep breath.

* * *

 **Washington DC.**

For the first time in his career, Gibbs didn't know what to do.

He had spent the night watching and re-watching the video that Vance had showed him. Now he knew every single frame, word, whisper and look.

The Team Leader had considered many solutions, but none would work because they all always ended with "I want that woman off my team stat!"

Gibbs had tried to sleep so he'd be more relaxed and would think clearer, but, after only a few minutes, he had shot off of his beloved sofa and had started pacing his living room.

He was so angry, shocked and upset that even sanding his boat hadn't worked.

Every time he looked at all of those pieces of wood he heard Tony's voice, _"How are you going to get it out of the basement, Boss?"_

Gibbs shook his head. _Boss...what a good Boss I was for you, Tony,_ he thought sarcastically.

At 5 am Gibbs took a quick shower and left his home. He drove around without aimlessly for about an hour and, without realizing it, ended up in front of Tony's building.

He parked his pickup and got out. After a brief internal debate, he crossed the road and entered the building with the keys he always kept in his pocket.

Gibbs opened Tony's door and turned on the light. Everything was still in its place as if Tony was going to come home any minute.

 _But you won't come home this night 'cause you're miles away from here... and it's all my fault._

The team leader entered Tony's bedroom and opened the wardrobe. All Tony's winter clothes were still hanging, along with the most of his suits and ties. Gibbs inhaled deeply and his nose was hit by Tony's cologne. _Oh, DiNozzo!_

He left the room and sat on the black sofa, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

 _I_ _could really use_ _one of our long talks in my basement_ _right about now_ _. You talk and I listen. When was the last time we did it?_

Gibbs thought about it for a long time, but came up emptyhanded. He shook his head, ashamed of himself.

 _Never thought we'd end up in this way. Never._

 _How am I going to work with Ziva and McGee now? How am I going to deal with her and the_ _mole hunt_ _without my SFA?_

 _"DiNozzo is not your SFA anymore. He's a Team Leader now."_ Vance's words echoed in his mind.

"Damn!" Gibbs growled as he stood up and left the building

* * *

When McGee exited the elevator at NCIS HQ, he found his boss already at his desk. Gibbs was so lost in his thoughts however, it was clear he hadn't heard the elevator dinging.

The new SFA had never seen his boss so sad and worried. But there was more. Gibbs looked defeated and this shocked Tim even more because, in his eyes, the older man was strong as a rock and nothing could break him.

 _This is going to suck_ _,_ Tim groused as he sighed deeply.

He slowly walked over to his desk and sat down without so much as an acknowledgement from his boss. Because of this, he almost had a heart attack ten seconds later when Gibbs demanded, "McGee! We need to talk!"

"Y-yes, boss!" He sprang to his feet and followed Gibbs towards the elevator and down to the autopsy.

Once downstairs, the NCIS agents entered the dark and empty room.

"Where are Ducky and Palmer?" Tim asked, looking around.

"At a conference," Gibbs curtly answered as he turned on the light over an iron table and put his hands on it.

"Boss, what's going on?" Tim asked, really concerned. "Why are we here? And most important, why did Tony leave?"

Gibbs looked down and sighed.

"Boss, Tony'd never leave. All he wanted and worked for was becoming the leader of this team when you retired," Tim continued. "I'm so glad Vance gave him his own team, but it's so...it's not what Tony wanted."

Gibbs shook his head and finally looked at his agent.

"I'm not as good as you and Tony in reading people, but I know Tony and, though he looked proud of being a team leader, his eyes told another story. Tony was sad and disappointed... and...and angry. Boss…Gibbs?" Tim stepped around the table but stopped an arm's length away from the Team Leader.

"Did Tony tell you anything after we came back from Israel?" Gibbs asked, as if McGee hadn't spoken.

"Israel? When Ziva stayed back?"

Gibbs nodded.

"No. I mean, he said you left her there but he didn't explain why."

"He didn't know why I left her in Tel Aviv."

"So why did you?" McGee asked but Gibbs ignored him.

"Did Tony tell you anything else? About what happened at Mossad?"

Tim shook his head. "Boss, what's going on?" His concern was only increasing, especially as Gibbs continued to deflect his questions.

"I need your help for an investigation but you can't tell anyone and you must make sure that no one discovers what we are doing." The boss pierced McGee with his blue eyes and the younger man just nodded speechless.

Gibbs knew that he was violating Vance's orders but he didn't care. It wasn't the first time he'd bent rules to suit his actions and it wouldn't be the last.

He wanted to close this secret investigation as soon as possible so then he could fire Ziva and get Tony back because Gibbs was still sure that DiNozzo was going to come back.

TBC

* * *

Please let me know what you think. Thank you!


	7. Chapter 7

NB I don't own anything of NCIS :(

\- I really want to thank all people who like this story and leave reviews. Your support is very important to me. Grazie!

\- A special thanks to my BR usa123. You're so patient and nice to me :)

"Choices& Consequences"

Chapter 7.

 _"And the fourth one?"_

 _"That one's very complicated," Wilcox stated._

 _"Though Agent Lee thought otherwise," Abner barely hid his anger._

 _"What happened?" Tony asked, rubbing his face and taking a deep breath._

* * *

 **Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.**

"Actually, it's a cold case but we'd like to keep digging," Abner began as he saw Tony open the file in front of him and frown.

"Actually, we're still investigating in our spare time," Wilcox added uncomfortably. He didn't know how their new boss would react, but he knew that their former boss would yell at them and threaten to report and fire them ASAP.

"Why?" the new team leader asked, without raising his eyes, his calm attitude surprising the men in front of him.

"US Marine Corps Colonel James Baxter was a neurosurgeon. He served in Iraq multiple times. Risked his life more than once and got several awards for it, even a Medal of Honor. He's been convicted of first-degree murder for killing his wife Angelica."

"But?" Tony prompted as he kept reading.

"But we don't think he did it," Wilcox answered.

Tony finally looked up at his agents. "Why not?" he asked and leaned back in his chair, ready to listen.

"Colonel Baxter had no reason to kill his wife. All testimonies said they were happy and in love."

"It wouldn't be the first time people thought a couple was in love when, in reality, their marriage was hell on earth," Tony replied, interlacing his fingers in front of his mouth.

"True. But if you had seen that man..." Abner sighed, shaking his head. "He was desperate."

"What was his motive?" Tony asked abruptly. He felt like he was in interrogation at NCIS HQ.

"Mrs. Baxter comes from a very rich family—they said he did it for the money," Wilcox replied.

Tony grimaced. "Lame. He's a doctor, a Colonel and," he picked up the file again and flipped through it, "as you said in here, he's already rich."

"That's what we told our former boss and testified in court to, but DA said that Angelica Baxter was richer 'cause she belonged to the Price family and the jury believed him."

Tony's green eyes widened. Jonas Price had been one of his father's business partners when Senior was a very important figure in the buying-selling real estate market for luxury houses and hotels all around the world.

"The Price family is one of the ten richest families in US," Abner added and got a nod from Tony in response.

DiNozzo motioned at the file. "I read here that what really put the last nail in Colonel's coffin was the phone call between his wife and 911."

Abner nodded sadly because that call ruined all their theories about Colonel Baxter's innocence.

Tony read aloud:

\- 911. What's your emergency?

\- Please help me (whisper)

\- What's the problem?

\- Help... Help... (whisper)

\- What is going on?

\- He's... He's here... (whisper)

\- Who? Ma'am, where are you?

\- In the closet (whisper)

\- Someone's in your house?

\- Yes. He's trying to kill me. (whisper and cry)

\- Could you repeat that, please? Ma'am?

-...

\- Ma'am? Ma'am... Can you hear me?

Loud cry. Sounds of struggle.

\- Ma'am?!

-...

\- Ma'am. We've your address. Help is coming!

\- He found me... (choked voice and heavy breathing)

\- Are you hurt? Is your attacker still in the house?

\- Stab...

\- Did he stab you? Ma'am! Ma'am! Stay with me. Help is on the way!

\- He-help...

\- Is your attacker still in the house?

\- Jim... he... Jim... yes...

\- Can you hide?

\- Jim... in here... he...please, help... he-help... he kills me... Noooooo... Jim... in here...

Tony took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead.

"Boss," Wilcox got excited sensing Tony's discomfort and doubts. It was possible their new boss believed them! "Have you ever had the feeling that you had missed something? That a man had been wrongly sentenced?"

Tony nodded, but he still looked doubtful.

"I know that that call is...unfortunate…but we maintain Colonel Baxter is still innocent!" Wilcox exclaimed.

"We?" Tony raised his eyebrows. "You mean, you two? Or all the agents too?"

Abner and Wilcox looked at each other for a brief moment. "All of us," the first one replied.

"All of you, except your former boss," Tony clarified, leaning forward and putting his elbows on the desk.

The younger man looked down at the file once again and then stated, "I can't reopen a case based on a feeling. You need to give me more, if you want me to give you time to investigate and help you."

"Help us?" Wilcox's eyes widened.

"So, you believe us?" Abner was surprised.

"Didn't say that," Tony shook his head. "This transcription is very accusative but I like challenges and I want to trust your instincts." He regaled them with his trademark lopsided smile.

"So, what do you want us to do?" Wilcox asked.

"First, we need to close all current investigations and then we'll reexamine this case. Meanwhile, I'll read all you gave me and…" he looked around, "…rearrange this office."

"Rearrange?" Wilcox asked, surprised.

"It doesn't work. I want to be with my agents and work with them. We are a team and we work together," Tony explained and was rewarded with two bright yet relieved smiles.

Both of the older man really liked their new boss.

* * *

 **Washington DC - NCIS HQ**

When Ziva entered the bullpen, she found McGee and Gibbs already at their desks. They were so engrossed in their job that they didn't even look at her.

"Good morning," she greeted gently.

"'Morning," Tim replied without raising his eyes while Gibbs just nodded.

"Something interesting?" she tried.

McGee shook his head and Gibbs didn't bother to answer in any way.

Ziva sat down and huffed in frustration.

"Problem, David?" Gibbs' voice startled her.

"No," she pouted.

"So why are you staring at your computer and not working?" He pierced her with his infamous glare. "If you've nothing to do, I'm sure I can find..."

"No, no. I have reports to review and print," she was quick to say before Gibbs sent her to review cold cases.

"When you're done, give McGee your reports so he can correct it," Gibbs ordered before he got back to work.

"Correct? My reports do not need to..."

"It's a SFA's job to review, correct and sign all reports before passing them to the team leader," McGee explained.

"Do you mean that Tony..." she trailed off.

Tim nodded. "Tony took all reports we left on Gibbs' desk and corrected them. Then gave them to Gibbs for a final review."

"No reviews were needed after DiNozzo's corrections," Gibbs growled. "Get to work now!" he raised his voice.

After about fifteen minutes of silence, Abby stopped in front of Gibbs' desk.

The older man just looked at her, patiently waiting for her to speak.

"Last night I met Ducky in the parking lot and he seemed really upset. I asked him what happened and he just shook his head and left. What happened?" she asked in one breath, without any pauses between sentences.

Gibbs just lowered his eyes and sighed.

"Maybe he was upset because Tony left." McGee's voice made her turn.

"Tony?!" she exclaimed. "Why would Ducky be upset? Tony left because he's selfish and doesn't care about our family and our Boss," she replied angrily.

"Abby," Gibbs growled, but she didn't stop.

"He had to stay and protect our boss. He destroyed our family and I'll never forgive him," she added, sniffling.

McGee shook his head. "Then you don't know Tony," he replied and, out of the corner of his eye, saw Ziva grinning.

The new SFA felt a shiver run down his spine. Ziva's eyes were beaming with malice. She really seemed happy that Tony had left and that Abby hated him.

"What do you know that I don't?" Abby pushed.

"I looked in his eyes."

"His eyes?!" she exclaimed, with a chuckle of disbelief. "You still believe that the eyes are the windows to the soul?"

"No," Tim answered softly. "But I know Tony better than you do, even though you've known him longer than me."

Gibbs coughed and Abby turned to him. "Is he right?" she asked, pointing to McGee, anger clear in her voice.

The boss just looked at her. Then he slowly stood up, walked around his desk and stopped right next to the lab tech.

"You're completely wrong about Tony," he whispered, only loud enough for her to hear, and left the bullpen.

"What did he say?" Ziva asked while McGee just stared at the elevator doors that had just closed behind Gibbs.

Abby stood there openmouthed as she felt her eyes filling with tears. Rage, pain, loneliness and doubts were heavy on her heart and soul now.

TBC

* * *

Please review. Thank you! :D


	8. Chapter 8

NB: I don't own anything of NCIS :(

\- I really want to thank everyone who likes this story and leaves reviews. Your support is very important for writers. Grazie!

\- A special thanks to my BR usa123. Your advice are so precious! You're so patient and nice to me :)

 _ **"Choices & Consequences"**_

 _Chapter 8_

 **Pearl Harbor - Hawaii.**

Tony knew that the US government is every slow, especially to allocate money for offices renovation and that he wouldn't be able to change the office for months. So he had taken advantage of currently being in the NCIS Director's graces and had emailed him a detalied design asking for money and, very strange to say, Vance had approved his plans for NCIS field office in Hawaii.

As soon as he had received Vance's approval, Tony had asked one of the secretaries at the entrance desk of NCIS Office in Pearl Harbor to call a company that was allowed to renovate government buildings.

So now the young Team Leader was discussing partitions, like the ones that there were around his desk at NCIS HQ, and color schemes.

"So light blue for walls and white for the ceiling," Honi Lua, the contractor, said and got a nod from Tony.

"My cousin builds partitions," Akela, the contractor's son and assistant, informed the NCIS Agent.

"Perfect!" Tony exclaimed. "And, since you have my sketch of how I want the one big room look like at the end of the renovation, that should be everything you need to get started, right?"

Honi nodded as he looked at the design once again. "You're good at sketching, Agent," the contractor praised.

"Years of sketching crime scenes, I guess," Tony grinned.

"So partitions and new desks. What about the color of the desks?" Akela asked.

"Black, just like the chairs. Can you find them too?"

Both men nodded.

* * *

"Boss," Jo called from the doorway hours later.

"Come in," Tony gestured for her to enter his office.

"It's about 0600 and you've worked non-stop since your arrival. Maybe you'd like to see your house?"

Tony rewarded her with a wide smile. "Sure."

Since the moment he had arrived and met Jo at the airport, he had felt that the younger woman had a special regard for him. Nothing romantic, just kindness and caring.

"If you want I can drive you there. It's on my way home," she offered.

"That would be great. Thank you, but I'm not going to live in the base housing the Agency assigned me," he grinned.

"No? Where are you going to live then?" Jo asked widening her blue eyes.

Tony gathered the files on his desk and put all but one inside the file cabinet.

"When I accepted this assignement, I remembered that one of my closest friend, Peter, owns an amazing house here on the beach. So I called him," he explained as put the other file inside his backpack and shut off his PC. "I wanted to ask him if he could host me 'till I'll find a place to live."

"And?" Jo was curious.

"Peter told me that he can't live there anymore because his boss transfered him to Montecarlo."

"Oh, no," Jo sighed.

"I got lucky!" Tony winked. "Peter was really worried the house, that had belonged to his granparents, got ruined if no one lived there. So he offered me to rent it for a very cheap rent and take care of it as if it were mine," he smiled one of his best smile.

"Amazing!" Jo exclaimed as she saw Tony leaving his office. "Don't you lock your office up?" she asked surprised.

"No," Tony shook his head. "Many things are going to change and..." he grinned as she widened her eyes in expectation.

"Tomorrow you'll have a great surprise," the Team Leader winked.

 **Washington DC - about midnight.**

Vance was still at his desk when he heard someone knocking on his door.

The door opened slowly and Gibbs entered, asking, "Do you have a minute, Leon?"

"You knock and ask permission to talk? It must be really important." The Director motioned for Gibbs to sit. "What's going on?" he then asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"It's about..."

"Ziva? I already told you that you can't fire her."

"No, it's not about her," Gibbs shook his head. "I need you to take us off active cases so I can investigate the mole case and close it ASAP."

"So then you'll get DiNozzo back," Vance added and got a nod from the older man. "Gibbs," he took a deep breath. "I don't think Tony'll ever come back to DC."

"Leave that to me," Gibbs replied, still confident in his abilities to read and manipulate his former SFA.

Vance didn't reply right away. He was tired of battling Gibbs' stubbornness and his blindness about the damage he had done to his relationship with DiNozzo was the last thing he needed in that moment.

"So, you want me to take your team off active cases?" he pondered. "Ya know I can't do that."

Gibbs glared at him and straightened up in his chair.

"I've already told you we can't change anything on any NCIS team. So you've got to work as usual and investigate the mole at the same time."

"Leon, I can't..."

"End of discussion, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs stared at him for a few minutes in silence and Vance stared right back, not at all affected by the older man's famous glare.

With a nod, the MCRT leader stood up, left the office and closed the door. As soon as he was out of Vance's sight, Gibbs leaned against the Director's office door and closed his eyes.

 _What a mess..._

 _Who's the mole?_

 _DiNozzo... we need you here..._

 **Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.**

"What's the address?" Jo asked walking to her car with DiNozzo.

"3 Edgewater Drive," Tony answered. "Is it still on your way home?" he asked. "I don't want you to..."

"It's not so far from my house," she answered getting into the car.

"You can afford a house near the beach?" Tony asked surprised getting into the car as well.

"My father can," Jo answered very serious and Tony frowned.

It was clear that the relationship between Jo and her father was not good and that the young woman suffered for that.

The new Team Leader knew too well how you feel when your father neglects you or treats you not too well, so he didn't ask further questions.

"You're lucky, Boss," Jo smiled as she turned on the right.

"Yeah," Tony sighed smiling as he took a deep inhale of the air coming through the open window. "Ocean," he whispered.

"Yeah," Jo nodded. "Does the house have direct access to the beach?"

"Yes," Tony smiled broadly.

"3 Edgewater Drive," declared Jo as she pulled into short driveway. "Welcome home!"

Tony got out of the car and stared in wonder at his new home.

The driveway led straight to a cottage in the middle of a garden and, even from the front of the building, he could hear the crashing of waves against the beach.

 _This is a dream..._

 **Washington DC.**

Gibbs was in his basement but he was not sanding his latest wood project.

He felt lonely and insecure about the future. He was angry but he couldn't blame anyone but himself.

It had been only after Tony had left that the Senior Agent had realized how much he had counted on Tony on the job and life too.

 _I wonder if he's feeling like I am..._

TBC

* * *

Thanks for reading.

Please, let me know what you think... :D


	9. Chapter 9

NB: I do not own anything of NCIS

Thank you so much to my amazing BR, usa123.

Thank you so much to all of you for your patience. I'm having some serious personal issues so I don't know when I'll be able to update this all my other stories. I hope you'll understand. Sorry :(  
Thank you.

 _ **"Choice & Consequences"**_

 _Chapter 9._

Tony entered his new house and a wide smile immediately lit his face.

A large living room with a big kitchen on the right opened in front of him. On the other side of the room, a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows showcased a large yard that ended with a short wall of rocks. In the middle of the rock wall, there were four stairs leading to the beach and the ocean.

To the left of the living room, there was a door that led to a long hallway which branched out to a bathroom, a bedroom and that ended in the master bedroom with its own bathroom and a big wardrobe.

"This is my room," Tony whispered as he sat down on the bed and admired the view in front of him—the same one as the living room.

Then he went back to the living room and opened the door on the right of the entryway and found a spacious office.

The house was all white, except for the tiles on the floor which were dark brown and the dark blue kitchen counter that separated the kitchen from the rest of the room.

In front of the counter, there were two sofas, one white and one white-and-blue-striped; two armchairs, one blue and one white; and a fireplace with a big plasma screen hanging over it.

Looking around, Tony noticed that his friend had removed all ornaments knick knacks and there was an envelope on the coffee table in front of the sofas.

He opened it and smiled.

 _"Hi Tony,_

 _Welcome home!_  
 _Yes, man, this is your home now I want you to relax and enjoy it._  
 _I stocked the fridge with all things you like and I left all the instructions for AC in the office._

 _On the fridge there's a list of phone numbers you'll need to manage the house._

 _Make yourself at home!_

 _Peter_

 _PS: if you need help or have questions, ask the nice young women next door."_

"Thanks, Pete," Tony smiled gratefully.

He left the letter on the coffee table and brought the suitcases to his bedroom. He really needed a long shower and a hearty dinner.

He was starving.

 **Washington DC.**

It was very late and Gibbs was still in his basement, but he was not sanding. The MCRT Leader was staring at the wall in front of him with a glass of bourbon in his hand when he heard the house door open and shut.

He immediately thought that Tony had come to talk about their last case.

"Idiot!" he cursed. Tony is miles away from here, he thought as he heard someone walking down the stairs.

"McGee," Gibbs greeted, a bit surprised.

The younger man stepped down from the staircase and nodded. He looked around uncomfortable.

It was clear that he didn't know what to do. Tim had never gone down in that basement to talk with his Boss. That's what Tony did.

 _But I'm not Tony,_ McGee thought, staring at his shoes and hoping that Gibbs would break that heavy silence. _Yeah! Leave it in the hands of a functional mute and you'll live in silence for the rest of your life._

"Boss, I'm here about...I mean, I—"

Gibbs rolled his eyes, annoyed. He was used to Tony who got straight to the point and never wasted time.

McGee took a deep breath. "—about the case."

"Yes?" Gibbs asked, raising the bottle of bourbon and offering some to his SFA, who shook his head no.

"You told me to be very discreet and that no one can know about our investigation, but I need more details if you want my help, Boss," Tim said in just one breath and got a nod from his team leader in response.

Gibbs proceeded to explain to his SiC all that their Director and SecNav had told him about the mole they had in NCIS.

McGee couldn't believe his ears and he wished Tony and his weird intuitions were still part of the team.

"So our mole sells info but no one uses it. That's crazy!" he exclaimed, but when he saw Gibbs raising his eyebrows he added, "I mean, it doesn't make any sense."

"It depends. If someday the buyer uses this info, we're in trouble," he replied. "The problem is that we've got to conduct this mole hunt while we do our regular jobs."

"Boss, Vance knows about..."

"No, Vance doesn't know I told you and it's got to stay in this way."

"This is going to be really hard." Tim rubbed his nape. "And no other team member knows about it, right?" he asked and got a nod in return. "Boss, it's impossible! Ziva will sense that something is not right and... and I'm not Tony. I can't lie as good as he did."

Gibbs pierced him with his blue eyes and growled, "Do it."

Tim just nodded, but he already knew that he'd fail.

 **Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.**

Tony was in his backyard, sitting on a very comfortable chaise lounge.

He was enjoying the sound of waves and the perfume of the flowers in the night when the doorbell rang.

Unwillingly, he stood and went to open the door.

"Special Agent DiNozzo?" a young man asked as Tony opened the door.

Tony just nodded.

"Agent Miller, sir," he showed his badge. "This is for you," the newcomer said, handing Tony a big envelope.

Tony regarded the envelope suspiciously. After his encounter with the plague, he didn't like any kind of envelope. "What is it?"

"I don't know sir. It arrived at the office less than an hour ago. It's marked 'urgent' and there's a note of the Director that says we had to deliver it immediately," Miller explained as he showed Tony the note.

Tony read it then he finally accepted the envelope.

After Miller had left, Tony took the envelope to the backyard, got comfortable again and opened it.

There were two files: a heavy one and a smaller one that summarized the bigger one.

The new team leader read it quickly but carefully. "Hunting a mole that apparently is not a classic mole. Weird!" he murmured, raising his eyebrows.

He looked at his watch but he realized that it was too late to call Director Vance in DC.

"Ok, DiNozzo," he sighed. "I can see a long sleepless night in your future...it wouldn't be the first one," he chuckled and started reading the heavy file while he heard "Always" by Bon Jovi coming from his neighbors' house.

TBC

* * *

I hope you liked this chapter.

Review, please. Thank you!


	10. Chapter 10

NB: I don't own anything of NCIS :(

Thank you so much to my amazing beta reader, USA123.

Thank you to everyone who still keep reading my stories :)

 _ **"Choice & Consequences"**_

 _chapter 10_

 **October - November.**

All NCIS team leaders around the world were working on the mole hunt.

In DC, Gibbs, who had involved McGee despite Vance's orders, was very nervous because of what had happened between him and DiNozzo and the secret assignment. None of the team members knew how to act around him.

Even Ducky and Abby had been the targets of one of his legendary fits of anger. So now the lab tech was on the verge of tears any time someone looked at her, while the ME refused to talk to Gibbs, except about reports for their current cases.

McGee had caught Ziva staring at him with a disturbing look, and more than once he had noticed her following him around the office even though she had no reason to do that.

It was clear that the Israeli woman had sensed that something important was happening and that Gibbs and McGee had left her out of the loop.

In Hawaii, Tony and his new team had already found their stride. DiNozzo's idea of dividing the team in three parts had not only given all agents the chance to work much more efficiently, but also the chance to show their skills. This change had greatly increased the case closure rate.

While Tony's team was working in harmony both on the current case and on Colonel Baxter's cold case, the MCRT in DC had more and more problems mostly because of its boss' difficulties in keeping his anger under control.

Gibbs' stress had never been so high and realizing that his agents were not as efficient as in the past just added more tension to the secret investigation he and McGee were involved in.

 **December.**

Gibbs was in basement sanding a rocking chair he was making for his father, when he heard the main door opening, closing and someone walking inside.

After a few seconds he saw Ducky walking down the stairs in silence.

The last few weeks had been very stressful and the younger man still felt guilty for how he had treated his old friend.

The ME stepped off the stairs and stopped a few steps away from Gibbs. He looked straight into his firend's eyes.

"Duck," Gibbs greeted him but received no reply. "'Ya wanna some?" he asked raising the bottle of bourbon that was stationed on the counter in front of him.

The older man shook his head but didn't utter a word.

Gibbs sighed in frustration. "What can I do for you?"

"Do you need to ask?"

Gibbs rolled his eyes and shook his head. "No," he murmured and gulped down the last sip of bourbon in his glass. "I'm..."

"You want Anthony back and you are venting your guilt on us," Ducky stated.

Gibbs incinerated him with his look, but the ME was not affected by the glare. "I do not know the details," he continued, "but, judging from your behavior, I can deduce that Anthony left because of something you did and this is eating at you."

Gibbs inhaled loudly and looked up at the ceiling.

"I have known you and Anthony for many years and I would never imagined that your partnership would break so abruptly and in such a gloomy way," Ducky took a few steps towards the table where Gibbs was standing. "I am really sorry about that. Anthony is such a good fellow and a very qualified agent..."

Gibbs demonstrated signs of impatience with this tangent.

"Are you going to deny that, Jethro?" the ME raised his eyebrows.

"No," Gibbs replied, sotto voce, lowering his eyes.

"I am not going to ask you what happened between the two of you because it is none of my business, but we can't go on this way. You are clearly upset and Anthony's goodbye was so sudden that his reason must have been really serious."

Gibbs nodded, looked at his bottle of bourbon in front of him, but didn't utter a word.

"Jethro, you need to solve this problem or your team will fall apart."

The younger man nodded again but didn't look up at Ducky.

"Mr. Palmer and I talked with young Anthony..."

Gibbs' eyes widened in surprise as he shot Ducky a look. "How is he doing?" the MCRT leader then asked, his concern clear in his voice.

The ME grinned at Gibbs' reaction and answered, "He is doing very well. We have talked via Skype and Anthony looked to be in very good shape, tan—"

"What about his job?" Gibbs asked, taking a few steps towards Ducky.

"He said only positive things about the agents he found in Pearl and it seems that the Hawaii office's case closure rate has already improved."

"Yeah," Gibbs sighed, "I know."

"You know?"

"I checked this morning."

Ducky checked his watch. "I need to head home," he said before leaning forward and touching Gibbs' arm. "Jethro, you need to talk to Anthony. Swallow your pride and talk to that boy." He squeezed his friend's arm, whispered, "Please," and left.

Gibbs knew that Ducky was right but he didn't know how to accomplish that objective. Calling Tony wouldn't solve anything because a phone call was too impersonal and his former SFA would certainly be too busy to waste time on the phone with him.

Email was definitely not an option: first, because Gibbs hated anything that had to do with technology and second, because it was even more impersonal than a phone call.

A letter would take too much time to arrive and Tony could decide to not reply, though the MCRT leader was sure that DiNozzo would never be so rude.

Gibbs stared at the staircase, weighing his options. After a few more minutes, he took his cell and made a call.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

NB: I don't own anything of NCIS :(

Thank you so much to my amazing beta reader, USA123.

Thank you to all my readers who still read, review and favorite this story :)

I'd like to reassure ziva/tiva/mote lovers, who get upset anytime they read the truth about this trio. Don't worry, people who do not like them (just this and no haters) have a life and, to be happy, we do not need to idolize and idealize an abusive relationship and a very bad example of woman. But anyway thanks for your concern ;)

BTW, you've been warned over and over again that this story is NOT for people who love ziva/tiva/mote, so why read and leave insulting reviews? It's childish and it doesn't make any sense.

Now back to serious things. Back to the story :)

 _ **"Choice & Consequences"**_

 _Chapter 11_

 **Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.**

Special Agent Gibbs entered NCIS Field Office in Hawaii and asked for Special Agent DiNozzo.

The secretary at the entrance told him that Special Agent DiNozzo was in the office and offered to bring Gibbs to him, but the older man gently told her that he knew where the office was.

* * *

As Gibbs entered the main office, he immediately spotted Tony. He could see him just from behind, but immediately noticed that his former SFA had changed.

Tony was slimmer and more muscular. He was wearing a blue button down that emphasized his broad shoulders and back.

"What did I tell you?" Tony said. "If a man is murdered, the first suspect is..."

 _His wife_ , Gibbs thought grinning.

"His wife," all the agents around him said.

"Very good, my Padawans," he patted the back of the man on his right.

 _Padawans? Only you, DiNozzo_. Gibbs thought shaking his head.

All people around Tony laughed and Gibbs felt his heart aching. He really missed that kind of banter.

"Okay, team. Time to close the case, arrest Mrs. Fryce and go home," Tony ordered as he walked towards his desk.

"What about our reports, boss?" a young woman asked.

"They can wait, Jo. It's been a long investigation and we haven't left this office for days," the team leader answered with a gentle smile.

His eyes shifted just a bit and the smile died on his lips.

The four agents in the central bullpen stared at Tony and then at the man on the other side of the office.

They all could sense that the light atmosphere had suddenly changed. It seemed that the temperature in the office had drastically dropped in a second.

Without taking his eyes off the newcomer, Tony ordered, "Walker, you and Moore bring Mrs. Fryce in and lock her up." Then with a mischievous grin he added, "I'm having an old friend for dinner."

Agent Walker shook his head grinning as well, as he recognized a "Silence of The Lambs" quote.

"Boss, you sure you don't need us?" Jo asked sotto voce.

"Positive, Jo," Tony nodded. "Go home and say hallo to your sister Mary," he smiled gently.

As soon as the agents left the office, Gibbs approached Tony's desk.

Tony was closing some folders, but stopped and looked at his former boss.

Both men stared at each other for a few very long seconds 'til the older man said, "DiNozzo."

"Gibbs," Tony replied as he closed the last file and locked then in one of the desk drawers.

 _He's not going to make it easy for me_ , Gibbs thought.

"I had some vacation and I decided to visit Hawaii." He felt the strange need to justify his presence on the island and he hated himself for it.

"Yeah. Sure," Tony nodded sarcastically.

"Don't you believe me?" Gibbs raised his eyebrows.

"No," Tony replied seriously. He took his Sig from the drawer and holstered it on his waist.

Gibbs grinned and shook his head. "So why do you think I'm here, DiNozzo?"

"I don't know," Tony answered as he rounded his desk and stopped in front of the older man. He sighed. "Gibbs, it's been a very long case and we didn't leave this office for days. I'm pretty tired and I have no desire or energy to play with you."

Gibbs nodded. "I just wanted to say hello," he took a deep breath. "Go home and get a good night sleep," he added. Then he turned and walked towards the office.

Tony looked at his former boss' slumped shoulders and, despite the fact that he was still pretty mad and he hadn't overcome the disappointment, he felt a twinge of pain.

 _I'm going to regret this_ , Tony thought just before asking, "Did you already reserve a room in a hotel?"

The grey-hair man turned and shook his head no.

Tony reached him at the office door. "I've a guest room, if you want," he offered.

"Are you sure?" Gibbs asked, hopefully and doubtfully at the same time.

Tony chuckled and shook his head. "Nope, but we'll figured it out in some way. Let's go," he gestured with his head and left the building followed by a strangely uncomfortable Gibbs.

* * *

Tony and Gibbs spent the 30-minute trip to get to Tony's place in silence, both lost in their thoughts.

Gibbs was enjoying the scenery around him, but at the same time, he kept looking at his former SFA and trying to read his expression. He had always been very good at understanding what was on Tony's mind, but this time the younger man's face was unreadable. The only visible reaction was Tony's clenched jaw and seriousness.

Tony couldn't stop wondering why he had offered Gibbs his guest bedroom. He already knew that living with Gibbs, even just for a few days, would be really hard both mentally and emotionally.

He could sense Gibbs' eyes on him and he did his best to not show his feelings. Tony didn't want to fight with his former boss again, now that he'd finally found some peace and a life he loved. DiNozzo didn't want Gibbs to ruin his new life.

DiNozzo parked his car in the driveway and both men got out. They retrieved Gibbs' suitcase from the truck and, still in silence, they entered the house.

"Nice," whispered Gibbs as soon as he saw Tony's backyard and the ocean.

"Relaxing," replied Tony, admiring the panorama. Then he moved towards the corridor. "Your room is this way."

Gibbs took his arm and asked, "Are you sure, DiNozzo? I can still go to—"

"It's okay, Gibbs," Tony nodded, though his eyes said otherwise. He showed his former boss his room and the bathroom. "My room is at the end of the hallway," he informed the other man. "Now, if you don't need anything, I really need to take a shower," he sighed.

"I'm fine, Tony. Take a shower and relax," Gibbs said.

Tony just nodded and walked toward his room. _Relax... yeah, sure... with you here..._

Gibbs plopped down on the bed and took a deep breath.

He felt conflicted.

The room was beautiful and the panorama out of the glass door in front of his bed was breathtaking. If he looked around, he felt at peace and finally relaxed after months... no, years.

But he couldn't ignore the fact that he was not on vacation, despite what he had told Tony. Gibbs knew he both his behavior towards Tony and his decisions as team leader had been really wrong recently.

He was way out of his comfort zone.

For a man that had always felt right about everything and anything, admitting that he had been completely wrong for years and that he had failed the only person who had been his only family after Shannon and Kelly's death, was unacceptable.

Tony's cold courtesy had really surprised him. Gibbs had expected to have a fight with his former SFA or be rejected and thrown out of the office. But Tony had offered him a room in his house and showed a maturity that he didn't expect.

Gibbs took his cell out of his pocket and made a call.

"I'm in Hawaii," he announced.

"I figured it out when I didn't see you this morning. Did you see Anthony?" Ducky asked with a sign.

"Yes." He rubbed at his aching eyes.

"How did he react?" the ME asked, worried.

"Actually, I don't know," Gibbs sighed as he walked to the glass-door and stared at the ocean.

"What don't you know, Jethro?"

"He's been kind and offered me a room in his house," the younger man explained.

"You mean that Anthony was the usual nice lad?" Ducky asked a bit surprised. _I hope not!_

"No," Gibbs shook his head even though his friend couldn't see him. "Tony's... I don't know, Duck. He was nice, but no jokes and, above all, no fake smiles."

"Oh, God. It's worse than I thought."

"He's more... I don't know..." Gibbs got back to the bed and sat down. "Tony looks so independent and mature, Duck."

"He's no longer your loyal St. Bernard, isn't he?"

"Nope."

"And now you've got to talk to him and treat him as an equal. He won't let you treat him like your own property again."

"I never did it!" Gibbs exclaimed angrily.

"Oh, yes. You did, Jethro," the older man replied firmly. "Where is Anthony now?"

"In the shower."

"Good. Now you take a shower as well and relax. You need it," the doctor advised.

"Yeah."

"And Jethro?"

"Yes?"

"Go slow and let Anthony lead this situation. Do not be your usual pushy self."

Gibbs nodded grinning. Ducky knew him so well... too well. "I'll try. Bye, Duck."

"Goodbye, Jethro."

The MCRT leader undressed and entered his bathroom just as he heard the water shut off on the other side of the house.

 _I wonder what's going to happen now..._ he thought as he turned on the shower and stepped under the spray.

TBC

* * *

I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know what you think, please.

See you in the next chapter :)


	12. Chapter 12

NB: I don't own anything of NCIS :(

Thank you so much to my amazing beta reader, USA123.

Thank you to all my readers who still read, review and favorite this story :)

 _ **"Choice & Consequences"**_

 _Chapter 12_

 **Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.**

When Gibbs entered the living room which opened into the kitchen the room was empty.

He looked around appreciating the colors and the furniture, but his attention was caught by the big black piano in the left corner of the room in front of the glass door.

Only in that moment did Gibbs realize that there were many things that belonged to Tony's place in DC. His books and the large collection of DVDs and CDs were neatly arranged on some of the shelves.

There were photos of Tony's mom and of Tony through the years, but no photos of his years at NCIS except for a photo with him and Kate during an NCIS barbeque. They were laughing and looked so young and carefree.

He walked to the piano and saw many music sheets with notes and words written on them.

The older man knew he shouldn't read the songs Tony had written. He knew that they were private, but curiosity got the better of him.

Gibbs read pieces of lyrics and mixed feelings hit his heart.

 _"I left so suddenly_

 _That I didn't have time to say goodbye_

 _The moment is short, so short_

 _If there is a light that pierces your heart_

 _This is my message_

 _Maybe one day I'll touch you_

 _With honesty can we erase_

 _The most demeaning and desolating misery?_

 _How many things I did not understand_

 _Which are as clear as falling stars_

 _And I must tell you that it is an infinite pleasure_

 _Carrying these heavy bags_

 _I miss you so much my friend_

 _and many things are left to say_

 _always and only listen to real music_

 _and try to understand if you can..."_

Gibbs swallowed hard as he felt those words written for him.

He took another sheet.

 _"And true love can_

 _hide,_

 _get confused_

 _but it can never get lost_

 _Forever and ever_

 _on the same side you will find me..."_

and another one.

 _"If you want to go, I understand_

 _If you leave me, I'll let you go_

 _but if I sleep on your breast_

 _I can't stop loving you, no._

 _You are wonderful in love_

 _sensual on my heart, yes_

 _If I feel you around me_

 _I still ask you, your body again_

 _your arms again_

 _to hug me again_

 _to love me again_

 _let me die again_

 _because I still love you."_

Gibbs took another sheet and absentmindedly he sat down on the bench.

 _"I wanted to stay a little alone_

 _to think and you know it_

 _and I heard in silence_

 _a voice inside me_

 _and too many things come alive_

 _that I thought were dead now_

 _and who I loved so much_

 _from the sea of silence_

 _come back like a wave in my eyes_

 _and what I miss_

 _in the sea of silence_

 _I miss you so much._

 _There are things in a silence_

 _that I never expected,_

 _I want a voice_

 _and suddenly_

 _you realize that silence_

 _has the face of the things you've lost_

 _and I feel you my love,_

 _I feel you in my heart_

 _you are taking back the place_

 _you never lost,_

 _that you never lost,_

 _that you never lost._

 _And what I miss_

 _in the sea of silence..."_

"Like what you read?" Tony asked, leaning against the glass door which opened to the porch, and made Gibbs jump.

The younger man grinned as he entered the room followed by a cream-colored Labrador puppy.

"Uhm... Tony, I'm sorry.. I didn't..." Gibbs felt ashamed.

"Rule #6, Gibbs," Tony reminded him as he walked into the kitchen. "Apologizing is a sign of weakness."

"Not between, friends," Gibbs corrected, walking into the kitchen as well.

Tony frozen at those words, but didn't turn and Gibbs, who was staring at him in search of any positive reaction, released a sad sigh when he received none. After a second, the younger man took a box out of the fridge and, looking at Gibbs, asked "'Ya like grilled tuna with salad and bread?" Gibbs nodded so Tony added "I've soy sauce, or mayonaisse or a very spicy tomato sauce. Want them too?"

The grey-hair man nodded again and, taking a deep breath, asked, "Can I help you?"

"You can set the table outside and cut the bread." Tony opened a drawer. "Cutlery here. Dishes and glasses are in that cupboard," he gestured with his head.

After getting a nod from Gibbs, Tony took the slices of tuna out of the box and placed them on a dish.

The puppy was sniffing Gibbs and, when the senior agent looked down at him, he felt like the little dog didn't like him. "'Ya have a dog, huh?"

"Yep," Tony nodded as he took the plate out in the porch and put the tuna on the barbeque that he had turned on earlier. "He stays with my neighbors during the day."

"What's his name?" Gibbs asked following him outside.

"Steve like Steve McQueen," he replied and got a bark from the puppy, who was walking around and sniffing the air that smelled deliciously of grilled tuna. "Yeah, you'll get some," Tony smiled down to him. He scratched its neck and the puppy cuddled against Tony's leg.

Gibbs nodded. "What do we drink?" he asked. He felt so weird talking with Tony about normal things when they both knew that there was nothing normal in their relationship now.

"There's water, beer and non-alcoholic beer in the fridge. Choose whatever you want," Tony answered and turned the slices of tuna.

* * *

They were eating in silence while the sun was setting and coloring the sky yellow, orange, red and violet.

"It's beautiful out here," Gibbs said, looking at the panorama.

Tony took a deep breath. "A paradise." He relaxed against the back of the chair. "You want fruit, ice-cream..."

"No thanks. I'm fine." Gibbs cleaned his mouth with the napkin. "One of the best dinners I've ever had."

Tony stood up and started gathering the dishes. "Thanks, but..." he took a deep breath, "Gibbs, you don't need to be so nice." He looked his former boss straight in the eyes. "We both know that we're mad at each other," he added and walked to the kitchen, leaving Gibbs speechless.

He was not used to this straight-to-the-point DiNozzo. The man that Gibbs knew would have faked one of his best smiles, would have cracked joke after joke to lighten the tension and certainly would have talked non-stop, trying to explain and justify himself.

The old Tony would have looked for Gibbs' approval and forgiveness, but this Tony was different and Gibbs didn't know how to behave around him.

* * *

Tony and Gibbs were sitting on two chaise lounges, drinking a beer and silently admiring the stars high in the black sky while listening to the rhythmic lapping of the waves.

Gibbs was waiting for Tony to start talking as he used to when he was his SFA, but the younger man seemed extremely comfortable and at ease with the silence, while Gibbs felt very nervous.

Tony could sense Gibbs' discomfort and he had to admit that he liked it. In the past he'd been the one who fidgeted in his chair and who would have talked first to break the tension, but not now. Since he arrived in Hawaii, the younger man felt relaxed and in control of his life. Though he had much more responsibility now, Tony loved his new role and his new life. Now he didn't have to fake smiles or always tolerate his boss and his colleagues' bad mood and stupid jokes... and Gibbs' headslaps.

The young team leader looked at his former boss out of the corner of his eye. _Gibbs is fidgeting!_ Tony grinned.

Gibbs sighed loudly. "I heard the Pearl office's case closure rate has never been so high," he said without looking at Tony.

"Really?" Tony asked, surprised. "I didn't check it," he added without looking at Gibbs. "Did you?"

"Yep."

Silence and more beer.

"I left McGee in charge."

"So the team is not on vacation."

"Nope," Gibbs cleared his throat.

It seemed more a battle of wills than a conversation.

"We're investigating a complicated case," Gibbs added.

"The mole hunt?" Tony asked.

Gibbs turned suddenly. "How do you know that?"

"I'm a Team Leader, Gibbs." Tony turned slowly and regaled him with his famous half-smile.

"Yeah," Gibbs sighed. "You are... sorry."

"Any suspects?" Tony asked, looking back at the ocean as Gibbs shook his head. "Did McGee already hack all the DC Agents' PCs?"

Gibbs chuckled and shook his head at Tony's question. The younger man knew him so well that he already knew he would have involved McGee despite the Director's order.

He turned and saw Tony grinning back at him. "'Cause you asked him to help you, didn't you?"

"It's against Vance's order," Gibbs replied with his best poker face.

"And since when did that stop you?"

"Right," Gibbs nodded and finished his beer. "You? Any suspects?" Gibbs asked and was surprised by Tony's troubled look. "Tony?" he pressed.

DiNozzo took a deep breath. "Maybe."

"What does 'maybe' mean, DiNozzo?!" Gibbs shifted on the chaise longue so he was facing his former SFA.

"Maybe means 'maybe', Gibbs!"

"Tony..."

"Save the glare, Gibbs. It doesn't work here," Tony snapped.

"Did you investigate alone?" the older man changed tactics.

"Sure. I'm not as stupid with the computer as you think."

"Never thought that."

"Really?" Tony raised one of his eyebrows. "Nice to know."

"Tony," Gibbs started but he immediately stopped. "I... you..." he took a deep breath as he saw Tony looking at him. "I've talked with Ducky and..."

"And he told you to talk to me and that's why you're here." DiNozzo paused. "Otherwise the perfect Gibbs would never stoop to my level, right?" his eyes filled with anger and pain.

That was a bad and unexpected punch below the belt for Gibbs. He looked at his former SFA, speechless.

Tony stood up abruptly. "Forget about it, Gibbs," he said and walked towards the ocean followed by his dog.

Gibbs stood up as well, but didn't follow him. He stayed on the porch debating what he needed to do to regain Tony's trust and friendship. _If it's still possible..._

 **NCIS HQ - Washington, DC**

"Where is Gibbs?" Ziva startled McGee.

The SFA jumped on his seat. "I..."

"Nervous, McGee?" she grinned as she sat down on her chair.

"No, I was just focused on my job," he replied, annoyed.

"Job? What job?" she pushed, staring at him. "Do we have a new case?"

 _Yeah... a secret case I shouldn't know about and I can't tell you about,_ McGee thought. _What am I gonna tell her?_

The SFA, who was now sitting at Tony's former desk, looked around and noticed DiNozzo's Mighty Mouse stapler in the corner. He grinned, remembering Tony's words. "The SFA's job is very important and demanding. There's a lot more than just working cases, Ziva," he replied, trying to sound confident and authoritative.

"McGee, you are not good at impersonating Tony," Ziva teased as she opened a file. Then she pierced him with her best Mossad look and added very slowly, "I know for sure that you are hiding something and I will find out about it… promise," she winked.

McGee gulped, showing all his discomfort.

The phone rang on his desk. _Saved by the bell!_ He thought as he answered.

"Special Agent McGee... Oh! Boss... He's home, I guess. It's very late here... yes... yes... not yet... really?! And what..." he took a deep breath and nodded, though Gibbs couldn't see him. "On it, boss!... Sure... and tell To..." he stopped. Gibbs had already ended the call.

"Gibbs?" asked Ziva and McGee nodded. "What did he want?"

"Ducky."

"Why?"

"I don't know," Tim replied, sotto voce. He looked at his colleague. "It's very late, Ziva. I'm going home and you better do the same," he added as he stood up and quickly left the room.

Ziva frowned at his sudden change of mood but didn't waste time thinking about it. She quickly grabbed her bag and left the bullpen.

* * *

As he reached his car in the parking lot, McGee felt tired but, above all, he felt disappointed with himself for not being as confident and professional as Tony was when he was their SFA, and with Gibbs for treating him like the usual probie and not his SiC.

 _I guess this is how Tony felt every time Gibbs demeaned him in front of other agents or even strangers._ Tim thought as he drove towards home. _Gibbs sounded very nervous. I wonder what's happening in Pearl..._

TBC

* * *

NB: songs lyrics are Italian songs ;)

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Thank you :)


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